Graduation
by Rurouni Tyriel
Summary: (COMPLETED) The final saga of the X-Men. Dark Phoenix, Weapon X, Sentinels, and more. Expect the unexpected. Everything that has a beginning has an end. For some of those at the Xavier Institute, the end comes sooner than most.
1. I

  

**Disclaimer:**

I don't own X-Men Evolution, though I wish I did.

**Summary:**

Just as the X-Men had their first days as raw recruits, so to do they have a day when they graduate and move on.  This story will lead them along the path to it.  Unfortunately, not all of them will follow down this path.  Heavy on Scott/Jean, with mentions of most of the other Evo couples throughout.  Phoenix, Weapon X, Inner Circle, and more.  Action, adventure, romance, drama, and a little humor.  Expect the unexpected.  Sequel to 'Annihilation.'  Cameos galore, mostly towards the end.  Includes glimpses into the future of the X-Men and co.

"Okay... everybody hold that pose... aaaannnndd... say cheddar!"

"Cheddar!"

The button was clicked, the light flashed, the picture was taken.  Before it stood the X-Men as they were.  Who, as soon as the picture was taken, immediately relaxed their postures and eased their smiles (Logan's and Sarah's all but vanished in seconds) and generally were glad the picture had finally been taken.

"Okay now somebody take mine!" shouted Danielle, offering the camera to Kitty as she jumped to her feet.

"Oh darn, we're out of film," remarked Kitty.

"Oh... well we can always do this again," said Danielle.  "Speaking of which, where's Lance?  Wasn't he an X-Man too?"

"Said he'd sooner be caught dead than join us X-Geeks," remarked Scott, as most of the others gathered started to disperse, realizing that their time was over.  A good number headed inside to change out of their uniforms.

"He did not!" remarked Kitty with a huff.  "He's busy at his new job.  Couldn't be spared today."

"Well, maybe next time he and I can get in the picture with everyone else," replied Danielle, taking the camera back.  "And maybe Forge too, you guys said he was a pretty good help.  He deserves a place in the picture."

Saturday being what it was, most of the students were all eager to disperse and get on with their lives.  And being as it was summer, most had decided that their lives would resolve around the olympic-sized swimming pool in the back yard of the Xavier Institute.

Professor Charles Xavier alone did not join the others outside, but sat on his balcony, overlooking the festivities.  Hank and Ororo were chaperoning the kids by the pool, administering good natured 'don't run' or 'settle downs' in case they got unruly.  Hank did it from the safety of a nearby tree's shade, since he and Kurt never did particularly well in the sort of summer heat New York was infamous for.  Kurt was faring slightly better, performing his infamous 'bamf and cannonball' dive, splashing water over as many people as he actively could.  Nearby, Rahne had climbed up on Sam's shoulders and the two were engaged in a playful battle against Jubilee and Roberto, until all four had gone floundering into the water, laughing.  And there by the far end of the pool, Bobby Drake was being chased by a small horde of very angry girls (Danielle, Tabby and Amara) whom had previously been sunbathing.  Apparently they had not enjoyed his practical joke.  One of their guests of the day, Evan, was flipping burgers at the grill with Warren and Piotr, and Alex was sipping cool lemonade under a nearby umbrella.

A smile touched Charles lips as he watched them all, his students, his children, his family.  And he felt immeasurably proud of them all.

Then he glanced over at his first students, to Scott and Jean, sitting quietly on the loveseat of the pool and just talking, and he felt a chill run down his spine.  Again, he questioned the wisdom of holding such information from them... but as always, he decided it was for the best.

The future was not written in stone.

Yet Charles had seen it.  Seen it in the mind of Apocalypse, seen glimpses of what was to come.  Such information was not for any man to know, lest they be tempted to change the natural course of time.  Apocalypse has seen the future, and it had driven him to madness.  Driven him to his mad scheme to re-work the world in his own image, to fuse his body to the technology of the future.  Charles Xavier could not in good conscience alter it either.  Not and risk remaining as he was.  He had to let things happen as they happened.

But still... Sarah had come to live with them, and while immeasurably welcome she had been seen in his visions.  So had Rogue's ability to fly, and that to was true, he noted as he watched her and Gambit splashing one another at one end of the pool.  And so had the very picture that had been taken earlier this day.  Charles' heart had stopped as the flash had been taken.  It was all coming true.

And that meant...

Jean's face scrunched in confusion as she glanced up at the balcony, as Professor Xavier rolled off the ledge and back into his room, closing his glass doors behind him.  His thoughts were... so worried.

"Jean?" asked Scott to her side.  "You alright?"

"Sure, sure I'm fine," she replied a little too quickly, giving Scott one of her award-winning smiles.  He returned one of his own, making her blush.

"Bobby Drake you are a dead man!" shouted Tabby, rushing after the cackling Iceman as iced his way across the pool and safely out of her reach.  Amara joined the blonde as they chased after him.

"Are they really going to kill him?" asked Sarah, glancing over at Kurt.  He shook his head.

"Nein, though he'll probably learn that women are nothing to trifle with," he remarked with a toothy smirk.

"I could've told him that," replied Sarah, folding her arms across her chest.

Two Years Later...

_"We are in agreement then?"_

_"We are."_

_"Not that we do not trust you but... what guarantees do we have that you will uphold your end of the bargain?"_

_"You know that my goal has always remained the same.  Using you to do it simple makes it easier."_

_"Just don't forget that.  And then, there is of course, the matter of your offspring."_

_"Leave them out of this."_

_"As long as you uphold your end of the bargain.__  When we have what we want, you will have what you want, and no one will be harmed."_

_"Agreed."___

**Author's Notes:**

Recognize the picture?  Final shot from 'Ascension,' baby.  I always wondered to myself why Forge, Danielle and Lance never were in that particular picture.  My explanation why, best I could come up with.  But then again, we all have photos like that where we can't get quite everyone we wanted.  Professor X's visions of the future are, of course, the glimpses we saw at the end of 'Ascension.'  And those who read my previous works in 'Nullification,' 'Infection,' and 'Annihilation' know that I'm slowly working towards those visions.  You'll be seeing a lot more as time goes on.  As for the creepy voices at the end, deliberately vague and shadowy?  An idea popularized by 'Nullification,' brought back again.  Have fun guessing whom our evil villains are for this wacky adventure.  Wacky, heh.  Frequent updates are a thing of the past.  Expect one a week, at most.  Terribly sorry, but such is life.  I hope I won't lose any of my hardcore fans.  Equally ominous note… this is, counting my failed movie crossovers, thirteenth X-Men Evolution fanfiction.  Thirteen.  Beware.


	2. II

"Okay, everybody here?" asked Bobby, glancing back from the cockpit into the main are of the Blackbird, doing a quick head-count.  Let's see... one, two, three... ah screw it.

"Anybody 'not' here?" he asked.

"I'm not!" replied Ray jokingly, causing the occupants to burst into laughter.

"No wait, seriously Kurt isn't here yet!" shouted Kitty, noticing her best friend's curious absence.

"How can a guy who teleports not be here yet?" asked Lance, sitting to her immediate left.

A muffled 'bamf' answered both their questions as the guy in question appeared, a passenger in his arms.  Amanda and Kurt quickly founds seats as everyone strapped themselves in, ready for their trip to the beautiful Hawaiian Islands.  Not that they were going alone, of course.  Professor Xavier has insisted upon Ororo and Hank accompanying them as chaperones.  They'd flown ahead in the XM-Velocity to clear up matters.

"Alright!  This is going to be fun!" shouted Jamie in the backseat... or rather, several backseats.  Each of his clones was wearing a survivor buff around his head.  Appropriate, considering the students were going to be roughing it on one of Hawaii's more remote islands for their summer vacation.  Well, not entirely roughing it, they did have tents and supplies.  And, thankfully, Logan was staying behind with Sarah to give her motorcycle lessons, so there wouldn't be any sort of 'survival' training.

The only one who didn't think she'd be having much fun was Rogue, who was peering morosely out the window.  Everyone knew why.  She missed Remy.

The Blackbird powered up as everyone strapped in, and Bobby Drake flew through the hangar doors and up into the bright, beautiful blue sky, rocketing towards Hawaii.

"Summer vacation!  Woooh!" he hollered.

Scott and Jean watched from the gazebo as the Blackbird flew up and into the horizon, moving entirely too fast to be safety, thought Scott.  He didn't voice his objections aloud, as he may have once before, but instead lay back, Jean sitting in his lap and in his arms, as they both watched the horizon.

"Sure you wouldn't rather spend the summer with them?" he asked, idly running a hand through her crimson-red locks.

"Spend a month or two in tents, bitten by bugs, without shampoo, or my favorite sleeping bag at my side?" she replied, cuddling up against him.  "Heck no.  I'll stay here at the Institute.  Besides, it'll be quieter with all the kids gone."

"Don't I know it... but I don't imagine my job'll be half as pleasant."

"It's just an internship," she replied.

"Yeah, at the Legacy company," he said bitterly.

"Who also happen to be the most advanced in the fields of genetics," she said, raising her head to look him right in... well, right in the sunglasses.  "A field you and I should be deeply interested in.  And I'd've jumped at a chance for an internship there."

"Alright alright, I surrender!" he said, raising his hands.  "But I still don't like them.  Since Spears was sent to jail we never see who's in charge now.  Heck, I don't think I've ever seen a single board member in my time there..."

"And they have all the time in the world to waste on a temp like you?" she asked teasingly.

"You sure make time," he replied, teasing her back.

"You worry too much," she said knowingly, cuddling up against him, as they both stared up at the clouds.

"I guess."

Outside, Logan was busy teaching Sarah the finer points of driving her very own, brand new motorcycle (like he'd let her anywhere near his) when suddenly a scent assaulted his nostrils.  Curious, he raised his head, drawing in the air to make sure he hadn't imagined it.  Sakura petals.

But the scent was gone as soon as it had come.  Maybe he had imagined it.  After all, being around Sarah did tend to remind him of her a lot.  They were similar in a lot of regards.  Fierce, disciplined, intelligent...

"Logan!  Come on already you said you were going to teach me!" she called out, flipping up the visor to her helmet as she brought her bike in alongside his.

Okay, Yuriko had been a hell of a lot more polite.  But Sarah was young and, unfortunately, absorbing every nuance of being a teenage girl from the others at the Institute.

The scent forgotten, Logan returned his attention to his student, revving his engine.  His other protégé, Sam, hadn't been half as good as Sarah, and unless Logan kept practicing she'd surpass him in no time.  And Logan didn't care what Chuck was always saying about students surpassing teachers, nobody was better than him when it came to a bike and the open road.

It was cloudy that night, thick and overcast, the dark fluffy clouds threatening to spill down rainwater at any moment, but they never did.  Logan had retired hours ago, as had Charles.  Sarah was down in the Danger Room doing katas before bed, leaving Scott and Jean completely alone in the living room as they sat back for a late night of burnt popcorn and DVD's.  Tonight's special: The Matrix Revolutions.

Thus it was that the happy couple were sitting, side by side, as close as possible without being in one another's lap (a position neither would've complained about), finger's interlaced as they watched the battle for the survival of the human race.  In a darkened room with the lights off, to cast the illusion of being in a movie theater.  A theater all to themselves.

Jean could tell something was up during the entire movie, however.  As anyone living at the Xavier Institute could tell you, it wasn't easy keeping secrets from a telepath.  When you got in trouble, they knew.  Professor X would, while not entering a person's mind directly (something he never did without permission or under duress), sense when someone had an aura of guilty thoughts floating about freely.  Likewise, it was damn near impossible to surprise him.  Though he'd managed to artfully fake it for his students sake on a few occasions.  Jean was slightly easier in that regard, in that her powers were still growing, but it was getting harder as time went on.  Her surprise twenty-first birthday, a little over two weeks ago, had been a disaster.

And now she could sense something was up with Scott.  He was keep a tight rein on his thoughts the entire time, not giving her a glimpse but she could sense something.  Not something bad, but something concerning her.  And whatever it was, it was making him incredibly nervous.  He kept fidgeting, alternately holding her close or giving her space.  It was driving her crazy.

Without bothering to grab the remote, she flicked the pause button with her telekinesis.  The movie instantly freeze-framed.

"Something on your mind, Scott?" she asked lightly.  In the past three years they'd dated, since just before the end of high school, she'd never known him to be so nervous.  And he'd faced down Juggernaut, Apocalypse, X24 and even Lucas without batting an eye.

"Guess you found out, huh?" he replied, his expression as unreadable as ever behind his wrap-around, ruby-quartz shades.

"You know I don't pry but you're practically gushing out thoughts," she said with a smile.  Another flick of her telekinesis, the movie stopped, the big screen flicked off, and the room was properly illuminated.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's... wrong," he replied cautiously, shifting further in the couch so he could face her.  "Just... well I'm not sure how to say this."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me," she said reassuringly, laying her hand over hers.  Almost instantly she felt him relax.  Powerful as Jean was, her powers of telepathy were always strongest around Scott.  Because of the bond they shared.

Scott took in a deep breath, organized (and shielded) his thoughts, and then carefully told Jean exactly what was on his mind.

"Jean, I've been thinking about, well...us... for a long time.  We've been together for as far back as I care to remember.  Since you first came to the Institute.  And you've always been there for me, and you always make me feel so happy whenever you're around.  And... I don't want that to end... so tonight I wanted to do something about it.  I was... I was going to wait until the movie was over but... now seems like as good a time as any."

Jean's breath caught in her throat.  This almost sounded like...

Scott slid off the sofa, landing on one knee in a crouch posture right before Jean who had suddenly found it very hard to breath.  Scott fumbled with one of his pant's pockets, finally managing to pull out a small black box.  Its meaning became obvious to Jean before Scott even spoke.

"Jean... will you marry me?"

And as he asked his question, Scott dropped his mental shields, allowing Jean to peer at his thoughts.  All of them focused on her.  His nervousness was now apparent.  Despite their bond, despite their love of one another... he was afraid she'd say no.  Already in her silence she was starting to worry him more, and she immediately spoke without even having to think about it herself.

"Yes... yes!  Yes Scott I'll marry you!" she all but shouted, as they two wrapped their arms around each other and drew the other close.  Warm emotions washed over them both, as they managed to relax enough to let Scott show her the engagement ring and slide it onto Jean's trembling fingers.  She was, as Kitty put it 'giddy with joy.'

Inside the mansion, all was happy, and it shone brightly with the emotions of the newly engaged Scott and Jean.

Outside, the storm clouds crackled ominously with thunder.

_"You were seen?"_

_"You're asking -me- that question?  Don't insult me."_

_"Well, what've you found?"_

_"This."_

_"This could be trouble."_

_"On the contrary.__  This could work to our advantage.  After all…the higher they go, the harder their fall will be."_

_"Anything else I should know?  I'm getting impatient."_

_"You'll get her when the time is right."_

_"We move?"_

_"We move."_

**Author's Notes:**

To assist in your guessing of the voices, I'll give the exact number of different people talking.  In this particular case, three.  Reason why most of them are on vacation?  Cut down on casting costs, quite obviously.  Don't worry they'll be back later.  Later also will I explain what has happened to Gambit.  Oh don't worry, he's not dead… yet.  Legacy company is from a few stories back in 'Infection' and was previously run by Guy Spears, who used it to spread the Legacy Virus.  Before anyone panics, Yuriko will -not- be appearing in this story.  Lady Deathstrike will not be involved.  However, there is a reason he caught her scent, to be revealed later.  For the record, I see I need to clear up a few ages in my story.  It's been three years since the end of Ascension (covering my previous stories) which makes Scott and Jean 21, Remy 24, Rogue 20, Kurt, Bobby and Sarah 19, Kitty and most of the New Recruits 18, Jamie 16 and so on.  You can figure out the rest by comparison.  As if anyone cares exactly how old the adults are.

Todd fan: No guarantees, as I said, frequent updates are over.  But probably at least one more before you return from your holidays.

X00001: It's comin', it's comin.'

Nessie6: Alright I'll spoil.  All mutants.  Won't say who though, that's too easy.  As for somebody dying, I'm not saying yes, I'm not saying no but… I'm especially not saying no.

DoubleL27: Never does happen enough, but who honestly wants to read a story without conflict?  They're dull.  Still, lots of happier moments in this one, as opposed to my previous story.

Princess Myra: Yeah, this is all two years after the first scene.  That was just some real quick foreshadowing and the like.  And don't worry, anything I start I finish, unlike some ff.net authors I could name.  So at the very least, you'll see how this ends.

Sandoz: Actually I think maybe Lance didn't want to be in the picture as a sort of protest.  Like he's not one of the crowd or anything.  As for Danielle and Forge, I honestly have no idea, I hope my explanation works as well as any.

Star-of-chaos: Maaayyybe.  Maaaaybe not.  Not telling.'  I'm really glad people are actually guessing this time around though.

ViciousAssassin: Oh nonono, I say nothing of the sort.  Professor X hopes that is the case.  He's in for a rude awakening.  And perhaps I will make such a chapter, but that particular couple I dunno if I would be good at writing.  And yes, two years after the last scene.

Risty: Oh don't you rant to me about underappreciated Forge.  Fret ye not, I will not be forgetting him, nor Arcade, nor any of the other characters who seemed to blink on and off the radar.

Son of Logan and Ororo: I never was a big fan of Evangelion, but I did sit through and watch the entire series.  And that's a really big compliment, so thank you very much.  And yeah, your analysis of the final pic is probably right.  I just try to explain it in the show, rather than as a show.

Elrohirthewriter: Not tellin', not tellin', not tellin' who the voices are.  Although I already gave a major hint a while back to Nessie6.  And yeah, I live for cliffhangers.  I get more reviews that way.  Heh.

Sphinx29: I dunno what culture you come from where thirteen is good luck.  But wherever it is, sign me up.  Thirteen's my personal lucky number.  Anyway, as for the voices you'll see.  And did I not mention Ray?  He'll get his time.

Evan fan: I'm afraid this story isn't Evan-heavy, but he'll get his screen time here and there.  Glad you liked the beginning, hope you like the rest, and sorry to disappoint, but its time for me to move on.

Rogue14: No, you update!  I wanna read more of your stories too!  Update ASAP!!!

Epona04: Coming as soon as possible, given my time constraints.  I promise, working on it day and night (What I dream I generally write, you see).

Comet-hime: Ice, dear Comet-hime.  Ice down their backs while they were sunning themselves.  Either that or peeking on them while they changed.  You know Bobby.  And actually your picture from way back, with the girls in swimsuits?  Inspired my choice of opening scene.


	3. III

Two weeks later.

Jean and Scott were on cloud nine, almost every waking moment they spent together.  Overjoyed that someday (someday soon) they were going to be man and wife.  There was nervousness, to be sure, but it was far outshined by the joy.  They wanted to get Professor Xavier's blessing (since to Scott he was the closest thing he had to a father, and to both of them he'd been both guardian and mentor) but he'd been called away Muir Island before they'd gotten the chance.  Troubles with a very powerful mutant there by the name of Kevin.  So it was that they'd decided to wait until his return.

They'd decided not to sleep together, of course.  That wouldn't have surprised anyone who knew Jean or Scott very well.  They were both mature, level-headed individuals, even when it came to the one they loved.  They'd decided to remain abstinent until the proper time came.  They'd even maintained their separate bedrooms, on opposite ends of the Institute, and had refrained from sleeping 'next' to one another.

Unfortunately, this left very little time for them to see one another.  Since Scott was starting his internship at the Legacy company, and it was a full-time job, they only got to see one another on weekends or very late at night.  Still, they made the most of any and all time they could together.

"Very well, Mr. Summers.  All seems to be in orders.  Head down to research and they'll handle you from here.  Speak to a Mr. Wyngarde."

"Yes sir," replied Scott, unconsciously fiddling with his necktie as soon as he was out of his supervisors office.  He hated dressing up as a rule, preferred to keep his clothing as casual as his nature.  But it was part of the things he had to get used to, now that he was working at the Legacy company.  They wanted to make a good company image.  His sunglasses were allowed, of course.  It was fairly public knowledge at the company he was a mutant, but for the most part he'd been spared from racial prejudice.  The Legacy company seemed genuine in its desire to actively hire mutants and give them jobs same as everyone else.

It seemed too good to be true, and for that reason Scott was very wary.

Scott sighed as the elevator doors opened, stepping inside to hit the ground floor, almost thirty levels below, down where research was.  The leaders had their offices at the top, probably because they thought it made them feel superior.  Seat of the gods and all that.

"Hold that elevator!" shouted a voice, causing Scott to instinctively thrust out his arm to block the metal doors.  They slid back open, and Scott's eyes widened behind his sunglasses.

It was a young girl, probably not much older than he was, with short blonde hair that fell just short of her shoulders.  She had the most startling blue eyes behind a pair of wire-rim glasses that, until now, Scott would never have considered even remotely sexy or beautiful.  But the way this girl wore them, they were.  She was dressed in a tight, crisp white business shirt and black skirt, all practical, all what Scott would expect, but she wore them like she was a lingerie model, and she certainly had the body to fill that occupation.

_Get a grip, Summers_, he heard himself say.  _You're engaged now._

_Not like I can't -look-!_ He replied to the other half of himself.

_Jean'll__ be pissed._

_Maybe she won't know...                                                                                _

_Fool a telepath?_

Reluctantly, Scott's libido surrendered to his conscience and his common sense, and he did his best to ignore the perky blonde as she slipped into the elevator beside him, moving to tap a button...  but gave a mild cry of joy when she saw they had the same destination.

And so the elevator started to descend, and Scott tried desperately not to look at the young woman sharing it with him without appearing overly rude.  This, coupled with his desire to check her out, made things considerably difficult.  Still, having sunglasses twenty-four seven helped.  He could peer at her through the corner of his eyes if he kept his head straight.

Odd thing was, -she- was checking -him- out.  She was trying to be discrete of course, looking through him through lowered lashes, but that only made her that much more obvious.  On the job one day and already he had an admirer.  She was going to be crushed when she found out he was engaged.

Suddenly the elevator lurched to one side, sending both its occupants hard in one direction.  Scott slammed lightly against the far wall, his X-Men training managing to helping him catch the blonde as she lightly slammed into him.  Reluctantly ignoring the feel of her curves against his body (she was even softer than Jean, he thought, before pushing that thought down) he turned to more immediate concerns.

The elevator had stopped.

"What on earth happened?" she asked, adjusting her glasses that had nearly been thrown off in the rough shudder.

"Not sure," replied Scott, reaching down and pressing the emergency button on the elevator.  That done, he set about to examine the problem from the perspective of a man trained to deal with trouble.

He could hear it.  The cables were creaking.  Frayed, likely.  The elevator car was going to fall the remaining twelve stories and hit the floor, killing Scott and the blonde inside unless they got out.

Aware of their precarious situation, Scott moved towards the door and pounded on it, trying to get the attention of those on the other side.  It proved to be a bad idea... the car groaned again.

"Oh god... we're going to die aren't we?  I don't want to die!" said the blonde, already broken down into hysterics.  She must've been claustrophobic.  Ororo would've been acting the same way.  Or at least, would've felt the same way.  Storm could've kept it together.

"We're going to be fine!" Scott half-shouted back towards her, doing his best to pry the doors open manually.  On the other side, it seemed some of the people there were trying to give them a hand, but both sets were stuck, and it was far too small for even the lithe blonde to slip out.  The cables creaked again... ominously.

"Everyone out there, get back!" shouted Scott, seeing no alternative.  Recognizing his tone of voice, the others quickly fell back to a safe distance.

Scott ripped off his ruby-quartz shades and blasted the frame out of one door, sending it to the ground with a thundering crash.  This upset the already tenuous hold of the cables, and the car lurched as one gave.  The others barely managed to hold.

"Go!" shouted Scott, grabbing the blonde and as gently as he could pushed her out of the broken doorway, where her co-workers quickly grabbed her and helped her out.  Scott dived out after her, and only in the nick of time.  The elevator cable broke and it was sent howling to the ground, followed by a muffled boom.

"Was there anyone else in there?" asked somebody.  Scott couldn't tell who as he slipped back on his glasses, re-opening his eyes.

"No, just us," he replied, barely able to finish those three words before he suddenly found himself being hurled to the ground by an overly emotional co-worker.  Specifically, the blonde woman he'd just saved from certain death.

"Oh my god you saved my life!  Thank you thank you thank you thank you," she said hysterically, sobbing on the front of his chest.  More than a little embarrassed, Scott gently disentangled himself from her arms.

"It's nothing, really," he replied, regaining his feet and doing his best to smooth out his rumpled white shirt.  "I'm sure you would've done the same."

After things had died down a little, Scott was once more called into the office of his supervisor, as well as the blonde, who also worked in research, he later found out.  He expected a chewing out about having blown off the elevator door, but Scott was pleasantly surprised when the man stood up and shook his hand.  If not for him, he said, there would've been two deaths today, and he'd managed to avert it.  His supervisor said he saw 'big things' in store for Scott Summers.

So it was that Scott came out of the office, shaking his head in disbelief.  Did he wake up this morning and enter some strange alternate dimension?  Somewhere where mutants were accepted for what they were, he was engaged to Jean, he was surrounded by hot co-workers (alright, only one so far), and when he wreaked something he got a pat on the back instead of a bill?  Had to be an alternate dimension.

_Ah well, might as well enjoy it_, he thought.  Jean did say he worried too much.

"Uhm... Summers was it?" came a voice behind him, startling Scott out of his reverie.  He turned, spotting the blonde co-worker he'd rescued.

"Yeah," he replied, offering his hand to be polite.  "Scott Summers.  Guess we didn't have time for formal introductions earlier."

"Emma Frost," she replied, taking his hand and giving a soft yet firm handshake.  "And... thank you again for saving me," she added, a blush creeping over her features.

"It was nothing," he replied again.  "I'm just glad I didn't get chewed out over using my powers."

"Yeah, you're a mutant aren't you?  The eye-beam thingie kinda gave you away," she added with a giggle, making her blonde hair bounce.

_God, did she have any idea how desirable she was?_

_Jean Grey, Jean Grey, Jean Grey_, he thought, almost as a mantra.  Gotta block out this blonde.  He loved Jean, after all.  He wanted to marry her.  He wasn't about to let his hormones tell him otherwise.

"Yeah, I am," he replied evenly, unsure of how she'd react.

"Oh wow, that explains why you're in the genetics division with me and Wyngarde.  I'm glad.  I hope I can get to know you better, Mr. Scott Summers," she said with a broad smile that showed off every one of her pearl-white teeth.  Before he could come up with an appropriate response, she whirled around on her foot with the grace of a dancer and walked off towards the stairs.

Great, he thought.  So much for letting her down easy.

_"She's alone.  Do I take her?"_

_"No."_

_"I thought you wanted the girl?  This is a perfect opportunity!"_

_"Do not take that tone with me.  I saved you from damnation.  You will serve me faithfully or I shall send you right back."_

_"My lord."___

_"That is better.  Must be something your mother left you."_

_"Speak not of her, my lord... please."_

_"I want the girl, but I want her to come willingly.  That is of course, the reason for all this."_

_"What is to be done then?"_

_"Contact our pawn.  He'll put things in order.  And have Black Bishop report to me.  Its time for him to make himself useful."_

**Author's Notes:**

And the plot thickens.  Longtime X-Men fans doubtlessly recognize Kevin and Emma.  I evolized them both, though Kevin was plot device, you won't see him again.  Emma, well... you'll see.  Doubtlessly the name Wyngarde also got a few people's attention.  The plot will soon be too thick for an adamantium katana to cut through it.  Still, guesses are always welcome.

Lyranfan: Everyone is nervous when they ask that question.  And if they're not, they should be.  Glad of course you enjoyed Bobby's opening, since he won't be back for a while.

X00001: You'll see what the evil plotting voices are up to soon enough.  The chess pieces are moving.

Ray1: It's a gift.  A gift acquired by sleepless nights, daydreaming, insanity, and large quantities of caffeine.

Nessie6: Not to begin with, of course not… you know me too well.  I love to torment my characters.  But, if you know me too well, you know I'm a stickler for happy endings.  As for the mystery people, well you'll be able to figure them out soon enough.  Brotherhood'll show up soon enough.

Sandoz: Riiiight.  Whatever crazy you Lanccity shipper you.  Glad you're enjoying the developments and don't fret, I'll be including both your fav characters as soon as I can, since they were in the future Ascension scenes.

ViciousAssassin: Wow, what a mouthful, you must really be enjoying this.  Well yes, I steamlined most of the cast with the ones you guessed.  Danielle and Forge I have, so far, left out of the plot.  As for special chapter, believe me I'm considering it, but we'll see what happens.  Jean goes Phoenix before they marry, and they want to save such 'specialness' until after that.  You see my difficulty?

DoubleL27: Perhaps, but I won't say about the evil voices too much.  I love making my readers curious.  Don't worry though the X-Men'll be back as a huge team soon enough.  As for Gambit… he has already been 'dealt' with.  Hehehehe.

Star-of-chaos: I have stated at the beginning of this story there will be at least one major character death.  I am deliberately withholding who it is.  But its just one.  So enjoy the ride.

Evan fan: Logan/Sarah?  I hope you mean that in a father/daughter kinda way.  But yes, Logan does indeed rock.  As do Scott and Jean.  But they're in for a bumpy ride.  All of them are.

Todd fan: Thank you, I shall (Don't let the Alligators Bite).

Risty: On the contrary, when watching one thing, the mind can instinctively wander into another area of enjoyment.  Why do you think most make-outs happen during horror movies?  Ooooh… you're so close it hurts.  Guessing the voices, I mean.

Rogue14: I think I will be, in future.  Less smashing involved, more cuddling and kissing.  I'll update as soon as I can but as you can see, that's close to once a week.  Not often.

UniversalAnimeGirl: Yes I know I forgot Rogue… but not Sam.  And even if he could've beat Logan, would he admit it to himself?  Heck no.  Its his mindset… he is the best.  End of story.  X24 was a semi-clone of Sabertooth.  X25 was a clone of Yuriko.  That much I'll tell you, since you could probably read back and find it yourself.  And there are no such thing as too many Japanese chicks.  If anything the world needs more Japanese chicks!  Curveballs, low balls, hard balls, they're all comin' right at Scott and Jean.  And yeah, sunlight isn't as sinister as shadow.  Just like discussing taking over the world is not done in Hawaii over mai tai's.  It's just now how you do it.  Ask Dr. Evil.

Comet-hime: Of course you inspire me, your artwork always does (except when it is I who inspires you, of course).  Of course you know, you know everything that's about to happen, because I've told you.  You must feel privileged to know all my deep, dark secrets.  But believe me, the whole gang will be back… this is only a temporary situation.  Makes it easier to write.

Elizabeth Braddock-Grey: You won't once I keep going, since it'll be a Romy for a little while.  Don't hate me, it's what the audience wants.  And gladly more… but kisses would certainly speed the procedure along, maybe?  Hehehe.

Princess Myra: Alex yes, can't involve Darcy without confusing non-Kinomi fans (as if anyone couldn't like her writing).  But in the epilogue she'll make her brief appearance, fret ye not.

SperryDee: Soon as I can, glad you're enjoying my latest work.  Fantastic, you say?  That's all?  Ha I'm just kiddin, thanks for the review.


	4. IV

"... and so I have come to understand that perhaps my Mutant Registration act was, perhaps in some sense, prejudiced.  A form of segregation, as some have called it."

"Took him that long to figure it out?" asked Jean.

She, Scott, Sarah and Logan were gathered around the television after a long day.  For most of them, at least.  It'd been almost a week since Scott started his new job, and Jean was seeing less and less of him than she would've liked.  Plus she had the busy time trying to find a job herself suited to her abilities (thus ruling out burger flipper, movie ticket seller, or waitress).  He was even working overtime, sometimes not getting home until eleven pm or later.  It was a darn shame.  So she was enjoying this time they spent together on the weekend.

Even if they were watching a mayoral address by Edward Kelly.

"As such, I have no plan to continue with mutant segregation or registration.  This would be unfair to the men and women who suffer from this... birth defect," he continued on, and even through the tv screen the gathered mutants could see his jaw clench as he spoke those words.  He was hating this.  Hating bowing to the public's will not to actively persecute mutants.

Jean hated it too.  Hated how someone so clearly racist could become a politician.  Their lives with in the hands of this mutie-hater, and she hated it.

Nearby, the end table shuddered.

"However, no one can deny that mutants are a danger if not properly controlled.  Yes, a few -rare- individuals with said powers have chosen to put their abilities to good use, but these are far and few between.  Therefore, I have decided to propose a bold new initiative.  And that is the Mutant Restrainment Act.  Under this new law, any mutant using their powers publicly, save for self-defense, will be charged for any and all damages that ensue, whether public, property, or personal."

"That's garbage!" shouted Jean.  The lights in the living room flickered, and Scott glanced at her in alarm.  Jean reluctantly calmed down... but she was still furious.  Logan and Sarah didn't look particularly happy either.  The Xavier mutants already had enough trouble trying to pay for whatever damages they did.  This law was just going to make them look like trouble-makers.

Mayor Kelly, of course, continued on as if he hadn't heard her.  Which, considering he was about sixteen city blocks away, was exactly the case.  "My newest advisor on the city council, Graydon Creed, will be taking care of all the details regarding the Mutant Restrainment Act.  I believe it has hammered out all the details that had previously been the damnation of the Registration Act..."

Kelly didn't get the chance to finish his speech.  At least, not before the gathered mutants in the living room.  A lamp lifted up from the nearby end table and rocketed through the air, slamming into the television set and shattering the glass, sending up sparks everywhere.

Logan didn't even bat an eye.  "You break it, you buy it, Red," he said as he stood up and walked out of the room.  Sarah and Scott turned to watch Jean in astonishment.  And she, for one, was equally shocked and annoyed.  Shocked she was so powerful, annoyed she hadn't been able to stop herself from doing that.

"Jean?  Are you alright... you've been really weird lately," said Scott, as gently as he could.

"I'm fine," she replied, standing and making her way over to a window, hugging herself.  She shivered a little.  She wasn't fine, and everyone present knew it.  "Really."

"Jean, if your powers are acting up..."

"I said I'm fine!" she shouted, making the lights flicker again.  Immediately she stopped, catching herself before something worse happened.

"Alright... alright I'm not fine... I'm just tired though.  It's not out of my control or anything."

"Jean, I don't want you to get hurt like last time," said Scott, as Sarah slipped off the couch and slid out of the room, sensing this was a private moment for the two.  Not that she couldn't hear them, of course.  Her ultra-sensitive ears could hear almost anything said on the mansion's grounds.

"What should I do?" she asked, her beautiful green eyes wet with tears.

"C'mere," he said, drawing her into a warm, much needed hug.  She sighed, relaxing into his strong arms.  She needed his strength right about now.  "Listen, if you feel you can't control this, I say head to Muir Island.  There's nothing wrong in saying you need help.  The Professor and Moira would be glad to help you.  You know that."

"Will you come with me?" she asked.

"Jean," he replied with an exasperated sigh.  "You know I can't.  Legacy's genetics division hit a break through the other day, and Mr. Wyngarde says I can't be spared.  Plus Emma says she would never figure out things without..."

"Emma?" asked Jean, suddenly curious.

_Oh damn_, thought Scott, then quickly tried to cover his thoughts.  But to Jean's suddenly surging telepathy, she caught them.  _I can't tell her about Emma.  She'll be jealous, and that'll only make things worse._

"Emma's uh, just a friend I met... she's a co-worker down in the genetics division," replied Scott evenly, his expression neutral.  His thoughts were another matter.  Pictures began to accompany his words, and Jean caught a fairly good look of this Emma Frost.  Through Scott's eyes.  Jealousy surged inside of Jean as she saw this unknown blonde bimbo flirting with -her- Scott.  Her hair waved briefly in an unseen breeze before Jean managed to calm herself down.

"You know, maybe I should go to Muir Island," said Jean evenly, her voice and tone neutral.  She gave no slip of her accidentally prying into Scott's thoughts.  "The time there may do me good."  _And it'll make you miss me_, she thought.  _Maybe that'll remind Scott who he's engaged to_.

"That's great," said Scott, smiling at her warmly.  All thoughts of Emma vanished from his head, and now there was only concern and care for Jean.  "Make a vacation of it Jean... you've got at least another two weeks before the others come back from Hawaii."

Jean relaxed then, sensing Scott's thoughts, even as she tried once more to place the lid over her unleashed telepathic and telekinetic powers.  She could sense his concern for her, and she realized perhaps she was being overly worrisome.  If Scott said Emma was just a friend, that's all she was.  Scott was many things, but never a liar.

His next sentence sealed everything for her.

"Besides, while you're down at Muir Island you can tell the Professor about... well, you know... our plans," he added meaningfully.

Scott barely had a chance to brace himself as a beautiful redhead flung herself into his arms, kissing him passionately.

One kiss had led to another, and that to another, and it had been almost two hours later that Jean finally managed to pull herself together, pack a few necessities (including, of course, her engagement ring... which never left her finger) and say good-bye to Scott, Sarah, and Logan.  Thus it was she strapped herself into the cockpit of the XM-Velocity (the second one, the first had already been taken by Ororo and Hank down to Hawaii) and launched herself out of the underground hangar, heading skyward and bidding one final wave to Scott, watching her from the balcony of his Kurt's room (his own was on the other side of the mansion).

Emma was just a friend, he said.  Why is it that Jean still couldn't shake the feeling that Scott's eyes were wandering.

Jean smiled anyway, in the unlikely event he could see her, and set in a course for Muir Island.  The Professor and she had been able to deal with her power surges in the past, she felt confident they could handle it this time.  Each time it got easier, and someday... someday soon she hoped... she'd be able to control it on her own.  Both she and Professor Xavier were looking forward to that day.

Already exhausted from the days events, Jean set the XM-Velocity on auto-pilot and lay her chair back, resting herself comfortably.  The on-board computer would alert her if anything serious happened, but she'd be able to catch an hour or so of sleep before her plane arrived in Europe.  Since it was at cruising speed (she was in no rush) she imagined she'd arrived sometime by late morning.

However, this prevented her from noticing that the Velocity's inner compass, despite being state-of-the-art... was slowly starting to change direction.  Pointing from north, where it was supposed to, and slowly turning to face the rising sun.  The auto-pilot compensated for this, and the trajectory of the plane began to slowly change.

Where its destination was now... was anyone's guess.

Scott sighed, tugging again at his tie for what seemed like the nineteenth time today.  He was especially frazzled with today's work, but thankfully Emma had called in sick, and she wasn't going to be hanging over his shoulder (or on his arm) all day.

"Mr. Summers?" came the voice of his supervisor.  Scott glanced up, spotting Mr. Wyngarde almost immediately.  A tall, handsome man with an impressive physique even Logan might've envied, Mr. Wyngarde was also a brilliant man with a keen mind.  He had a thick, trimmed moustache and piercing blue eyes, and his dark hair was neatly tied back behind his head.  It was no wonder he'd been placed in charge of the genetics division of the Legacy company.  Though that had been after the shift in power.

"Yes sir?"

"I have some files I need to run up to our Defense division.  Normally I let Ms. Frost take care of that, but she's out to day, as you doubtlessly noticed," he added with a knowing smirk.

"Uhm, yes sir," replied Scott, keeping his expression neutral and pretending not to understand his boss's innuendo.

"So I need someone to run up the files.  Feel up to it?"

"Can't we transfer them by computer?"

"Too delicate.  I trust you, boy… just deliver them to Mr. Torque's secretary.  She'll get them to him."

Scott nodded, grabbing up the offered holder and took the stairs up three floors to the Defense division.  Legacy had a number of contracts with the United States Government, inventing defense systems.  Never outright weapons though, for some reason.  Ah well, all the better, thought Scott.  He'd have no joy in working with weapons.

He was, however, mildly shocked when he saw whom he was delivering the files too.

Mr. Torque's secretary was out for the day, so Scott headed straight into their office himself, to find none other than…

"Arcade?"

"Hey!  Scott, isn't it?  Scott Summers?  I remember you," said the red-headed boy, sitting up from behind his desk (it seemed he'd been working on his computer) and coming around to give Scott an enthusiastic handshake.  "How're things over at the mutant mansion?"

"Uhm, fine," replied Scott, reluctantly breaking the handshake.  Arcade had always remained an enigma to the x-men.  On one hand he'd tried to kill them, by accident of course.  On the other, he'd helped take out Mastermold and save them all from extinction.  And none of them could ever understand what exactly was going on in his head.  It seemed he had actually trouble separating reality from the computer games he played.

Still, always better to have friends than enemies.

"Got some files for you, send up from Mr. Wyngarde," said Scott politely, handing over the files, which Arcade took as if it was a present on Christmas morning, eagerly tearing into it.  What he saw must've pleased him, thought Scott couldn't see too clearly.  Just a bunch of technical code, far as he could see.

"Thanks a bunch Scott.  Well, see you around."

"Sure thing.  Glad to be working with you."

Scott didn't notice, but as he turned away, Weber Torque, better known to some as Arcade, had a truly wicked smirk on his features as he examined the files he'd just received.

Jean never awoke from that pleasant flight.  -They- were making sure of that.

Magneto didn't know exactly who they were, only whom they were part of.  And he knew what they were capable of doing.  Essentially, that was all he cared about.  Even if dealing with them still gave him the willies.

So it was that he gestured like an orchestra conductor, allowing the XM-Velocity to drop down slowly.  Though its passenger was asleep, any sudden jostling might wake her up.  And powerful as she was, in an environment such as he was, with almost no metal, she might defeat him and escape.

At least the XM-Velocity was metal.  This was the second one constructed by Professor Xavier.  And he hadn't had the resources to build a second one out of non-magnetic plastic like the first one.  He was getting sloppy, decided Magneto.  Ah well, made the job that much easier for him.

So it was the plane dropped down onto the sandy beach with barely more than a whisper.  As his side, Magneto's link to the elusive group he was working for nodded her head in approval.

"Good work," she stated.

Magneto paused, turning to take a good look at her.  She was little more than sixteen years old, yet she acted already like she was twice that age, always calm, always precise.  She had distinctly asian features and hair that was dyed an unnatural shade of red.  She was dressed, as she'd always been whenever he saw her, in green fighting leathers.  And her nails were always immaculate.  She never stopped fussing with them, for some reason.

"I trust your superiors will uphold their end of the bargain?" asked Magneto, trying to sound menacing from the confines of his red helmet.  The girl glanced at him briefly, out of the corner of her eye.

"As per our deal.  Mayor Kelly's new law won't last five minutes on the Bayville council.  Our organization will see it dies before it is even born.  Your offspring and their friends will be safe in Bayville."

"And I've already done my part of the bargain," replied Magneto, his body-armor vibrating with a metallic hum as he lifted himself up.  His royal purple cape flapped about him.  "So I believe I'll take my leave."

"Nice doing business with you," she replied, still examining her nails and not paying the slightest bit of attention to him.  Magneto departed, and the girl opened the XM-Velocity, taking the girl and tranquilizing her.  Just to make sure.  Then she slung the redhead over her shoulder and took her.  The jet would be left to their other agent to deal with.  No loose ends, after all.

_"You've done most excellent work, my dear.  I'm impressed."_

_"It's a simple matter if you know how to manipulate people.  And if there's one thing I know, its how to do that."_

_"Do not get over-confident.  We want to continue to keep her ex out of the equation.  Keep him preoccupied... which is, of course, where you come in."_

_"Joy."_

_"Oh come now, where is your enthusiasm for acting?"_

_"Master?  Black Knight is here."_

_"Ah, excellent... this means we can begin the meeting.  Unfortunately this means you have to be on your way."_

_"Nothing would please me more." _

**Author's Notes:**

Four distinct voices that time.  And Kelly continues his crusade against mutants.  Using Graydon Creed, no less.  Is anyone surprised?  Of course not.  Graydon Creed is a mutant's worst nightmare, short of a sentinel.  Scott and Jean's relationship enters shaky ground with the emergence of Emma.  Coincidence?  Again, of course not.  Again, comic fans likely know where this is going.  Arcade has been brought back into the plot, no I've not forgotten about the lovable little computer geek.  Since I know so little about his comic-version, I'm modeling him after some of my favorite (and not-so-favorite) movie hackers.  He has important part to play as well.  Now you know that Magneto has been involved, but is not the mastermind behind the plot.  He's in the dark too.  Hope this keeps ya guessin'.  As does the identity of the japanese redhead.  I'll give you a hint though, don't go digging through X-Men archives.  She's one of -MY- OC's.  Next chapter, back to the new recruits and those on vacation.  Or did you think I'd forgotten about them?

Risty: Hey, you just read this stuff.  I actually write it!  How sad is that?!  As for Emma, yeah I think she's best off introduced gradually.  Like how most mutants were on Evo.  More of their human sides, less costumes and codenames.  As for her relationship with Scott, well… you just see what awaits them.

ViciousAssassin: Emma heard each and every thought, believe me.  She's not as innocent as she pretends to be.  And as you can see, no one wants to be in Scott's position when that happened.  Would we be?  Jean is looking for her own job, just doing X-Man stuff at the mansion.  Kinda like a drop-out college student at home, watching tv and reading magazines.  And don't fret, next chapter brings back the mutants down in Hawaii.  Less Scott/Jean, but they're still the main couple and key characters.  As for Professor X, I cannot say.  But recall also we never saw Gambit, Wolverine, or a lot of other people in the future scenes.  I've got lots of leeway on whom I kill.  And I'm thinking under 25.  Maybe only… thirteen!  Muwahaha!  Danke for extra long review.

Rogue14: Of course not!  But evil people don't parade around in all black with devil's horns and big signs painted on their backs that say "I'm evil!"  Emma is not going to be good.  At least not right away.  But just keep in mind that 'Former Villain' is on the resumes of most of the Xavier Institute residents!

X00001: A Scott and Jean fan no doubt.  Hope I don't break your heart when you see what becomes of the poor bastards.  Ah, but to tell you would be spoiling, wouldn't it?  So you'll just have to wait and see.

Lyranfan: Mystery for not much longer, but hopefully thickening of plot.  I had a little trouble coming up with ideas for Emma Frost, but I'm glad you liked where I put her.  Enjoy the rest of the story.

Star-of-chaos: Wench?  That's putting it lightly.  Don't worry, I plan to make people both hate and love Emma, as appropriate, throughout this story.  For whatever features appeal to them (pun intended).

DoubleL27: Oh ye of little faith.  Emma is for plot, primarily.  I needed her for this, and afterwards I plan a gruesome and terrible end for her.  Maybe.  Still going fifty-fifty on that.  But you'll see, it'll all work out.  You'll see soon enough where this is going.

Nessie6: Not Holocaust.  And that would be his daddy Apocalypse, lost through the cracks of time.  And don't fret.  As you can see above, one of them was Magneto.  And you can even see the deal he made.  Don't fret, Brotherhood'll get their stage call soon enough.  'til then they gotta stay behind curtains.

The Son of Logan and Ororo: More or less.  Again, I repeat to all of you I don't read the comics.  But I am going from some scenes I saw in the Animated Series X-Men.  With Mastermind and White Queen and all.  But I've made some Evo tweaking.

Comet-hime: Non-sexual?  You mean wearing more than that skimpy white outfit and not actively seducing all men in sight?  Well then yes, I suppose.  Glad you enjoy where this is going.  Keep up the pretty piccies.  I'll send over the Weapon Xee's to rough up your scanner unless it coughs up its protection scannings.

UniversalAnimeGirl: She is too corrupted!  Acting, damnit!  Like I told Rogue14!  No Sebastian Shaw… Tessa?  Who the heck is that?  Its not even resentment, its raw naked hatred.  You'll see why soon enough.

Princess Myra: Yeah, definently can't be easy being married to a telepath.  Or a precog.  They'll yell at you for women/men you haven't even looked at yet!  The blonde is Emma, more on her soon.  As for voices, coming up.

Elrohirthewriter: That'll come later, its not exactly something you can wear to work (except maybe casual Fridays).  No, no, no, hell no, no. no.  Wait, yes.  Yes on that last one only.  Emma and only one other are OC's vital to the plot.  All others are Evo characters seen on our beloved (and cancelled) show.


	5. V

"Timber!"

The gathered mutants scattered quickly as their assembled shelter collapsed on them… for what seemed like the ninth time since they'd come to the remote Hawaiian Island.  Nearby, Hank chuckled, resting himself on the flooring of his own constructed habitat that he shared with Ororo and Piotr.  The kids had been left to their own devices for the most part when it came to survival, they had just been sent along to keep them from causing trouble.

And to enjoy the show.

Right now at least sixteen or seventeen Jamies were running around trying to re-construct the shelter.  Hank could've pointed out they were building on an unsecure landscape, but kept his opinions to himself.  Hopefully they'd notice before they got too far along.  They'd learn sooner or later.

Rain was an infrequent visitor during their trip down to Hawaii, the days long and sunny and sweltering hot.  It had forced the furry mutants, namely Kurt and Hank, out of the sun during the day, and made them more active by night, when things cooled considerably.  Having given up on the ideas of shelter almost a fortnight ago, most of the New Recruits had settled on lying down on the beach under the stars.  Which of course sucked when they got rained on, made them work on a shelter for a while, and then it would collapse.  The pattern kept repeating itself, over and over again.

Further down the beach, the second team was having a much easier time, their shelter having been constructed about three hours after they'd arrived on the island.  That was primarily owed, of course, to the superhuman strength of little Rogue, and her team of Lance, Kitty, Kurt, and Amanda.  Most of them were still asleep, having learned early on to ignore the sounds of re-construction from the other shelter.  Still, Hank happened to notice how Amanda and Kurt were shifting over, no doubt to give room to anyone who might come by and ask to use their shelter for 'just a little while.'

But Rogue… Rogue was another matter.

Rogue was clearly not enjoying herself on the island.  And clearly, one did not have to look farther than the members of her makeshift team to tell why.  Kurt had Amanda, Lance had Kitty, and Rogue had no one.  Her significant other was… well… unable to join them.

And today it seemed, Rogue could not stand it a moment longer.  So it was she lifted herself up into the air, soaring up among the clouds searching for Ororo, and finally finding her floating amongst the clouds on her back, much like a swimmer might float on the surface of water.

"Ororo?" she asked, well aware that her white-haired mentor was probably relaxing.

"Yes child?" she replied, sitting up on the cloud to peer at Rogue.

"I'm thinking, if its okay with you an' Hank if I could head home early?  I mean, I'm having fun and 'all here, but…"

"Go on," replied Ororo with a smile.  Years of dealing with teenagers had taught her how to sense subtle shifts in their emotions and sort through their sometimes veiled questions or requests.  Rogue wanted to go home so she could visit Gambit.  And that was fine by the weather witch.  She'd inform Hank once she decided to head back down.  Preferably some time after Ray and Roberto had stopped bickering with one another over their latest failed shelter.  Honestly.

"Watch out for low flying planes," remarked Ororo as she lay her head back once more and closed her eyes.  Rogue barely heard her as she zipped off through the clouds, moving at close to her maximum speed, mach two.  Technically she was capable of mach three if she pushed herself, but she felt no need to over-exert herself.  Just get home before the sun set on beautiful Bayville.

And hopefully before visiting hours were over.

Meanwhile, on the island, tempers had settled down (hot heads never lasted long in the hot baking sun of Hawaii's islands) and the New Recruits had settled for their favorite activity to pass the time.

Mutant Volleyball.

They had the equipment of course.  The Blackbird had on board, in addition to enough firepower to take out anything else in the air, enough storage space.  They'd filled it with all manner of beach stuff and survival gear, though they'd left most on board.  They wanted to challenge their inventive nature and mutant powers.  Still, they could take a break and have fun every now and then.

The game quickly became guys vs. girls.  With Alex, Ray, Bobby and Jamie (only one at the moment) taking on Tabby, Amara, Jubilee and Rahne.  Roberto was busy soaking up sunlight on the beach, far away from the players of the game.  Lance and Kitty  had both declined offers from their own sides to join, and were sitting in the shade of a nearby palm tree, cuddled in one another's arms.  Of Kurt and Amanda, there was no sign.  Not entirely a surprise.  They tended to wander off for hours at a time, 'gathering firewood' or 'exploring.'

Clouds were prominent that day, obscuring the sun, but it was a welcome break from the heat, and no one complained.  And when the light returned, again no one complained or noticed.

Only it wasn't the sun that was making that light.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Kitty, pointing up at the sky.  Something was up there… burning?  It was a bright spot of red fire, high up in the sky.

"I dunno," replied Lance, sitting up and squinting his eyes.  He couldn't see from this distance.

And then more eyes became to fixate on the strange light up in the sky.  And soon they were all peering up at the strange phenomenon, wondering what it could possibly signify.

And very soon, they found out.

Because it was heading straight for them.

"As Kitty would say, orange is -so- not your color," remarked Rogue lightly, one hand pressed against the glass, one hand holding the phone to her ear.

"I've worn worse, believe me," replied Remy, cocky and suave, even in his given circumstances, his stance mirroring Rogue's.

Gambit had, from day one, never made a secret of his former life of a thief.  Hell, half the time he was damn proud of it.  He could've pilfered the pearl necklace off of Ororo's neck from thirty feet away without her noticing.  He was the best.

But when he met Rogue, he'd given up his thieving ways.  When he'd settled at the Institute, he'd sworn on his mother's grave (a very serious thieve's guild oath) to atone for his past sins.  Not exactly to stop stealing all together (never say never, after all) but he would make amends for some of the things he stole.  One such item had been rather irreplaceable, and had originally been intended, by its original owner, to be donated to charity.  This had been the worst of Remy's crimes.  Thus, he'd done the only honorable thing he could do.

He'd turned himself in.

Professor Xavier's aid and Remy's cooperation had placed him in a minimum security prison for a five year sentence, on the condition he did not use his mutant powers.  If that happened, he'd be transferred to the Maximum Security Penitentiary for Superhumans for at least twice that.  So far, he'd been nothing less than a model prisoner, and the D.A. suggested that he might be out in another year and a half or so, provided there were no problems.

"How're things in the real world?" asked Remy jokingly.  "I almost forget what its like out there, chere…"

"Same old, same old.  Kitty still steals my Linkin Park CD's, can't cook, and is going to be moving back in with me in Fall when the new students arrive."

"You must hate that."

"I'd rather have my favorite Cajun for a roommate," she replied teasingly.  He smirked, not even phased.  Darn, Rogue was really hoping to get him with that comment.  Whenever they played the teasing game, Remy always seemed to walk away the winner, and it irritated Rogue to no end.  _One day, swamp rat_, she vowed, _one day you're gonna go down_.

"I miss you," he said, his voice and indeed his entire posture changing.  He was being serious.  Long time around him had helped Rogue see the subtle points of his nature.  And made her like him that much more.

"Ah miss you too," she replied, her southern accent thickening as it always did when she was around Remy.  He brought back such fond memories of her old home.  Before mutants, before costumes, before no-touching.  When life was simpler.  "You know ah'll be waiting for ya when ya get out," she said, leaning closer against the glass that separated them.

Glass that Rogue could've shattered with a flick of her finger, that Remy could've blown to bits.  They could've escaped in under a minute, and no one could stand in their way… but they didn't.  Professor X had taught them both better than that.  Power brought responsibility.

"Better have my coat ready for me," he replied with a smirk, his posture once again teasing, but his eyes were serious, red on black as they peered into Rogue's green ones.  He'd given her his prize trenchcoat, and all of the playing cards therein (including a Tarot deck Rogue had once bought him for Christmas) before offering himself up to the Bayville police.

And so visiting hours came to an end, and reluctantly Rogue and Remy separated, going their separate ways.  The next few years would be hard on both of them, but they would come through it the better for the experience.

The gathered mutants scattered, each heading their own way and doing their best to find whatever shelter they could.  For all the good it did them.  A meteor didn't exactly stop until it left a smoldering crater in the earth, which is exactly what it did when it (thankfully) flew lover over their heads, so loud it was nearly deafening, and slammed into the earth.  Entire waves of thick black dust flew up into the air, whooshing over the students and the teachers alike.  Kurt grabbed Amanda and teleported her inside of the Blackbird where they had a sliver more protection than those outside from the shockwave that followed.

When it was over, everyone was covered in dust, half-deaf (ringing in the ears mostly), and confused, but thankfully no one was hurt.

Once everyone was safely taken care of, Hank immediately took charge and gathered up Kitty and Lance to come with him and inspect the fallen meteor, leaving behind Ororo to organize the others to clean up what things they could find.  Their volleyball net had been blown into the sea, and the game was officially over.

Kitty was the first to reach the impact crater, which stretched nearly thirty yards from end to end.  Hank and Lance were lagging behind.  Below, there was a great deal of white smoke, but it was quickly dispersing.  All around, the trees were broken and knocked down, particularly in a long path that had no doubt been the flight of the meteor.

Then the smoke cleared, and Kitty got a good look at what had fallen to their blue planet from the stars.

"Oh my god," she whispered, her hand over her mouth.

By the time Lance and Hank had arrived, Kitty had already stepped into the crater, ignoring any warning Dr. Hank McCoy might've given about how the rock was still hot and dangerous.  And when she emerged again from the crater, she had something in her arms.

Something tiny, purple, reptilian, with wings and a tail… that even Hank McCoy could not identify with all his knowledge of the various species of earth's animal kingdom.  But his study into mythology identified it, even as his mind reeled from the impact.

It was a dragon.  A tiny, alien, baby dragon.

_"Ah, finally… I have her.  She is mine."_

_"Ours."_

_"Yes, yes, ours of course… her power is.  But she herself is mine and mine alone.  Make that clear when you begin your work."_

_"As you wish.  Pity… I'd've rather liked her for myself."_

_"Just remember what I saved you from, you freak."_

_"Alright… we'll begin now."_

**Author's Notes:**

Two distinct voices that time, much easier conversation to follow obviously.  Hmmm, let's see… Remy's not dead but I think his jail scene would satisfy the many rabid anti-Gambit fans I have, while not getting my crucified by the pro-Gambit fans.  Nice little compromise, I think.  Also my explanation of why Rogue had on a trench coat in the future scenes of Ascension.  We get a little insight into the vacationing X-Men, and learn once more the dynamics of a fanfiction.  Trouble follows the hero around.  A meteor containing a baby purple dragon?  I've been waiting to give Kitty that particular pet for ages now.  And don't worry, it wasn't completely random… it ties into the rest of the plot later to come.  Next chapter… no more evil voices.  We will finally see whom is behind the evil plotting and shadowy voices.

Star-of-chaos: I used to be filled with the terrible hatred for Jean.  Then I realized if I tortured her, it'd be more appealing to the fans than killing her outright.  Sentinel… uh… right.  That sounds like it would be oh so remarkably painful.  But yeah, he does deserve a swift kick in the rear, at least.

DoubleL27: I know what I'm doing.  I've heard the complaints about Emma from everyone, I know how to keep the hussy from ruining the Evo universe.  And yeah, good old Magneto.  He's not really being manipulated, he's making deals.  That OC you'll see again soon enough, and then her identity will become apparent.

Lyranfan: Not exactly a puppet.  Not as much as some others will be used as pawns later on.  After all, why would he care about Jean?  It's just his kids (and alright, maybe his old buddy Charlie) he cares about.  However, you might be right about him being pissed later on.

Evan fan: Nobody likes Jean, it would seem.  But she seems more pleasant somehow around Scott, yes?  And besides, I kill her I hurt him.  But if I just make her suffer… muwahahaha!  And there are your not-so-New Recruits.  And all the others who aren't at the mansion.  Evan'll have his time much later on.

Todd fan: Yes its Mastermind, but don't tell Scott that.  They never learned his real name, you recall.  He's hiding out in the Legacy company with his associate Emma Frost.  His appearance?  Illusions!  Muwahahaha!

Fluffy's Number 1 Gal: Well there is in my story, damnit!  Work with me here!  There's lots of 'em!  Maybe there was a spontaneous volcanic eruption a few years ago and this little island popped up out of nowhere.  It's the Evo universe already.  Now that my rants done, hope you're enjoying the rest.

Rogue14: Think X2.  That might give you hints.  Actually, that's all but giving away who she is, but I've decided to be generous lately.  That's why I have a whole chapter dedicated to the villains of my story later on.  Actually, that's the next one.

ViciousAssassin: And if you would recall, at the end of Annihilation to save time, I wrote that Magneto visited and trained the New Recruits.  That scene is taken care of.  Magneto is now freed to do whatever he wishes (or I wish).  And as for that chapter, yes, one was Mystique, one was Emma, and one was our evil mastermind.  Whomever they are.  Package was files, but yes, they are important.  Very valuable information.  And Arcade isn't evil, no… but he can be easily manipulated.  Mystique proved that.  And don't worry, this is a plenty big review.  But I love any and all feedback I get.  Big, small, long, short.  All delicious reviews!

Comet-hime: You must be the only person who is appreciating the developing love triangle of Scott-Jean-Emma.  Although then again, you are the only one who knows where this is going.  Good on the scanner.  Let it know if it gets out of line I've got Apocalypse in my back pocket, and I'm not afraid to use him either!

Nessie6: Its illusion, baby.  Hey, I love Morlocks!  I gave them there own story, way back in the day.  Nobody loves Morlocks more than me.  Well okay lots of people probably do.  But I was the first to support the Evan/Callisto couple!  Or at least write a romance and a lemon about it.

X00001: You'll see soon enough.  I have big plans for her and, indeed, the Evo universe.


	6. VI

He had a name once, but he no longer used.  It was a weakling's name, a human's name.  Someday, there would be no humans left, only the powerful, only the mutants.  The mighty Apocalypse would rule them all, and he… he would serve as his right hand.

But for now, Mesmero had to find a way to retrieve his most dread lord back from the terrible nothingness from where he had been imprisoned.  Fell through the cracks of time indeed.  Apocalypse was eternal.  Mesmero had witnessed his power, firsthand.  No such simple method could defeat the Alpha and the Omega.  Therefore, it was a simple matter to free his dread lord from wherever he was, and then their plan would come to fruition.  No mistakes this time.

Unfortunately, easier said than done.  Time-travel was limited to the power of the devices from the time of Rama-Tut.  Apocalypse's technology.  And most of that had either been destroyed or confiscated by the United Nations to be studied and, hopefully, to "benefit" mankind.  However, Mesmero knew more of them existed, scattered across the world, hidden amongst the ruins of the world as the pyramids had been.  And now he had the resources to find that technology.  It would take longer to study it, but surely there was a key amongst the useless junk he was accumulating.

Mesmero was, in fact, so engrossed in his studies of a particular artifact (an olmec dagger supposedly capable of "cleaving through the winds") that he missed the sound of soft footsteps until their own spoke.

"I can see I'm not bein' particularly clear with you, Mesmero…" said a thickly-accented voice, causing Mesmero to shudder even as he turned around.  "So I see I'll have to refresh your memory."

The owner of the voice was a young man, no more than eighteen or nineteen years of age.  With dark blonde hair cut short and a small goatee gracing his thick, strong chin.  He had the look of an aristocrat, though his clothes were more those of a punk or goth.  He stepped down the stairs into Mesmero's study, hands on his hips as he regarded the hypnotist mutant.  But it was his black eyes… the eyes were what scared Mesmero most.  They were the eyes of someone with power.

"Black King… what brings you here?" asked Mesmero, at once bowing low before the young boy no more than half his age.  He showed him the same respect as he would have Apocalypse… for now.  Until the situation changed, he had to.

"I made it abundantly clear two months ago, Black Knight.  En Sabah Nur is dead," he stated, and Mesmero felt his spine stiffen at the insult.  "Stop searching through dusty ruins to resurrect that bastard.  The Circle rules now.  Concern yourself with serving the Circle," he stated darkly.  And Mesmero recognized the veiled threat.  The Circle's leader was the Black King.  Basically, he meant to concern himself with serving him.

No true names were spoken between the two.  Too dangerous.  Their particular locales were shielded from prying eyes, ears, and minds, but one could never be too cautious when you were part of the Circle.  Thus, only your codenames were ever used.  His was Black Knight.  A medium rank in the upper levels of the Circle, and certainly far better than that countless Black Pawns who worked under the Black King.

The Black King's dark eyes narrowed, glancing at the dagger still held in Mesmero's hands.  He squinted, and it suddenly burst into flame, falling out of Mesmero's shocked hands and falling to the ground to shatter against the floor.  While the fact that it broke so easily meant it was not an artifact of Apocalypse, the fact that the Black King would so casually destroy it angered Mesmero almost beyond all reason.

"Focus your energies better, Black Knight," stated the Black King as he lifted himself up and floated out of the chamber.  "Or you will die."

And in that regard, the Black King never made idle threats.

"Having trouble with our favorite tattooed freak?" asked Emma, idly twirling a finger through her blonde locks as she watched the Black King enter their meeting chamber.  As the organization's name implied, they met at a circular table, in the tradition of Camelot.  However, Emma was White Queen and a power in her own right, second only to the Black King (the White King had died from natural causes almost a year ago.  Because a dagger in-between one's eyes quite naturally ends ones life.)  Emma was the only survivor of a decidedly hostile take-over of the old, White regime.  And that because she switched sides with the rising Black King before he destroyed her too.

Emma had changed out of her normal business suit.  It felt so ugly on her, despite what the thoughts of every male (and even a few females) had told her every day she kept up with the charade.  Now she wear back in her customary white latex garb that was no where near indecent.  The sort that clung to her body like a second skin, and made her feel almost like she wasn't wearing anything at all.  A white fur cloak was thrown around her shoulders.  It made her feel free… and powerful.

"Nothin' I couldn't handle," replied Black King, leaning in to kiss her white-gloved hand.  The two of them enjoyed flirting endlessly, though they knew it was mostly out of ambition.  The Black King wanted a loyal second-in-command, and White Queen enjoyed the power her rank brought.

"And what about your little Hellions?" he asked into her ear huskily, sending a shiver down her spine.  She smirked, whispering back into his.

"They're getting rather eager for some bloodlust…" she replied with a playful giggle.  Again, all for show.  And they both knew it.  "You know of course our most gifted was helpful in getting Jean back."

"Seems Colonel Wraith actually made himself useful.  We might have to keep him alive for a while longer.  How is Black Bishop doing with our guest?" he asked smugly, taking his seat next to Emma's own and leaning back casually.

"I'll ask," she replied, closing her eyes and sending out the psionic equivalent of a tap on the shoulder.

_Having trouble, Mastermind?_ she asked telepathically, careful not to intrude too far into his mind.  She might've disrupted his work.  Or worse, gotten caught into it.  And she liked her memories intact, thank you very much.

_Almost finished_, he replied.  _Give me two minutes and we'll be there.  Just having a little trouble with this damn link… we should've broken it when we got the chance._

_And risked pissing her off?  She's a lot stronger than you are_, thought Emma.  _She'd obliterate you if she got the chance.  Nah, best we just leave it like this… let the link die on its own._

_Whatever_, he replied, and Emma could even sense a bored tone in his thought patterns.  Abruptly he severed the link.  While outwardly she was calm, and had an almost amused smirk on her pretty pink lips, inwardly she was fuming.

_I'll make you pay for that, you bastard_, she thought.__

_Trouble?_ came a thought from the Black King.  He hadn't moved his mouth, but he had quirked an eyebrow as he usually did when he was asking a question.  It was a silent way of saying 'think before you reply.'

"Nothing I cannot handle on my own," replied Emma with a charming smile.  Telepathy didn't work very well for conveying emotions.  Not the kind of telepathy possessed by the leaders of the Circle, at least.  There'd been a rumor of a mutant capable of manipulating emotions in Salem, Massachusetts but he'd suddenly dropped out of sight, and it hadn't been too interesting anyway.

"I am here," stated Mesmero as he slipped into the room like the skulking thief he was.  He gave a low half-bow to Emma and the Black King before sliding into his chair opposite them.  As befitted the Black Knight rank that he held.

"We are here as well," stated Mastermind from the opposite doorway.  All doorways in this particular fortress led to the Circle's meeting chamber.  It was the heart of their installation.

Mastermind strode in, still cloaked in his illusionary guide as a handsome man with a thick moustache and long, drawn back brown hair.  His clothes, however, had been exchanged from a modern business suit to a 19th century Englishman's clothes, all as black as the night.  It didn't fool a single member of the Circle, all powerful telepaths in their own right, but they'd obliged him anyway.  Like a jester in a king's court, his antics amused them.

And behind Mastermind strode their latest member.  Who would soon be formally inducted into the Circle as their Black Queen.  She strode in like a queen already, her every motion graceful and fluid, her bright red locks had been bound above her head in a bun, her body clad in skin-tight latex similar to the Emma's, though of pitch black rather than snow white.  An ebon cloak flowed around her shoulders.  She walked around the Circle, meeting the eyes of all gathered, and sat down with regal grace on the Black King's opposite side.  By his left hand.

"Let the council begin."

Instantly the lights flicked off, plunging the room into darkness.  It did not matter.  They did not need their eyes to see one another.  Their minds were powerful enough.  They spoke aloud anyway.

"Gentlemen," began the Black King.  "And ladies, of course," he added with a meaningful smirk.  "Gathered at this table are some of the most powerful, and influential mutants in all the world.  We have among us the potential to rule.  To do whatever we wish, answering only to one another.  Already our organization's influences, legitimate and otherwise, have stretched worldwide.  And none even know our names.  And now I introduce to you our final member, and with her, together we have the power to dominate the world from the shadows.

I present to you… the Black Queen."

"Fascinating," whispered Hank, peering into the microscope at the meteor fragment he'd just obtained.  And none-too-easily, either.  It had taken Logan's adamantium claws to slice off a tiny piece so he could examine it.  The stuff had been far tougher than any steel he'd ever encountered, and almost as powerful as adamantium.  And now he knew why.

It was vibranium.

A rare, naturally occurring mineral that, until now, had been only discovered in Africa.  In the wake of a meteor strike, if Hank recalled correctly.  Ah, well that explains it.  The element vibranium was no tougher than ordinary lead, normally.  But, through as a yet unknown science, it absorbed vibrations and converted it into energy, thus strengthening itself (hence its name).  No wonder Logan had to use his claws to break it up.  If it absorbed much more sound, this particular fragment might explode. Vibranium did have a breaking point, after all.  It could only hold so much.

"Unfortunately," he said to Kitty, "this does not explain our little guest."

After the meteor impact, the students had returned to the mansion to study the meteor and the odd little alien they'd discovered in it.  It didn't seem quite a baby, all things considered.  It was perhaps, near as Hank could tell, an adolescent as its species measured their age.  At least capable of taking care of itself.  Where it had come from, he had no idea.  Nor did he have any idea of how to care for it.

Kitty, however, did.

Her parents had never allowed her to have any pet in her entire life larger than a goldfish.  However, in her efforts to try and change their minds, she'd taught herself countless little tricks on the care of various animals, read dozens of books, and helped out with any friends pets she'd known at the time.  Eventually the interest passed, but the knowledge remained.

And useful it was, because Kitty was adamant about keeping Lockheed.

Hank, Logan, Professor X, Ororo and her parents combined would not have the power to sway Kitty's mind, influenced unfortunately by entirely too many late night sci-fi sessions with Kurt.  The instant the thought of giving Lockheed (named after a dragon-esque doll she'd had since birth) to the government or to a scientist organization appalled her.  Thus, like it or not, the Xavier Institute now had an impromptu mascot.

She sat in a black chair, legs up and resting on top of the controls, hands holding her favorite fashion magazine.  She paid only a cursory glance at the screens before her, since she felt there was absolutely zero threat.  Only one screen was blank.  The Circle did not let its meetings go out to any who were not part of its inner ranks.  And for all her usefulness, the red-haired girl seated before the screens was not an member.  She was a Pawn, nothing more.  Still, she didn't care.  Once she got what she wanted, she was out of here.

Idly she glanced up at one of the screens, showing some of the other Pawns in their barracks.  Hellions, the White Queen liked to term them.  An accurate a description enough.  In the screen she also saw her own reflection, her distinctly asian features and unnaturally red hair.  Grumbling, she turned back to her magazine.  She hated mirrors.  Sighing like the teenaged girl she was, she flipped the page of her magazine… and froze.  Her fingers trembled then, suddenly… dangerously.  An editorial had caught her attention.  "Mutant fashion?" it was called, and it had pictures of some of the more famous mutants at the Xavier Institute.  Including, there, at the front…

She growled, darkly, and lashed out with her pink tipped nails, slashing clear through the magazine picture.  The girl whom she'd been looking at now found herself painfully missing her head.  Had she been real, that is.  Now that her image was destroyed, the red-headed girl relaxed… marginally.  It wasn't as satisfying.  The real thing would do better.

Footsteps.  She heard them long before their owner knocked at her door.

"Come in," she grunted darkly, tossing the magazine aside and pushing off her legs, making her chair rotate in a circle so she could face who was entering.  Like she had any doubts.  The lingering stench of death and formaldehyde told her exactly who it was.

The door slid open, to reveal Colonel Wraith.

"Daily injection?" she asked grimly, admiring her nails more than him.  She'd chipped the tip of one.  How annoying.

"It won't be but a moment, child," he replied, scuttling across the floor like a spider and gently taking her arm.  She unbuckled the front of her green leather shirt, sliding it off.  She wore a black tank top underneath, but wouldn't have cared overly if she hadn't been.  She bared her arm, still admiring her nails rather than paying any attention to him.  The needle pierced her shoulder, and she scarcely felt a thing.

But then she felt pain… pain indescribable.  Pain that flooded her every cell and nerve, and very nearly made her lose her composure.  But she managed to control it.

"Out," she ordered, and Colonel Wraith obediently fled before she got violent.  As she always did after the injection.  But it was necessary for her health.  The door slid close, and she howled then.  Roaring in pain.  Her body twitched in the chair as she latched her fingers into the armrests to keep herself down.

"You did this to me," she hissed through the pain.  "Its all your fault.  You'll pay for this!"

Had anyone passed by the security center by that time, they would've concluded only that a lioness was loose in the fortress.  As it was, most had learned to avoid it at this time.

Of course Summers would be here first to see you, she thought to herself.  Jean dropped down and reluctantly slipped into his arms, though she was careful to mask her hesitation.  She hugged him warmly, barely stifling a grimace as he asked her how the trip was.

"Oh it was horrible," she replied lightly, smiling the idiotic smile she was renowned for.  "I ran into a storm midway to Muir Island, threw me off course to somewhere in… gee, I think it was Africa actually.  So I set course back to the states."  It was a believable story, if not the truth.  And of course Summers swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

"Besides," Jean added, flipping her red hair over one shoulder.  "I missed you," she said, giving him a soft, loving kiss on the lips.  He returned it eagerly, and for a moment she allowed herself to relax.  It had been a while since she'd been kissed, after all.  At least, quite like this.  Might as well enjoy it.

**Author's Notes:**

And no more need for the voices, because I have just shown you who the evil people in my story are!  Shocking, twisting, surprising, etc. yes?  Good.  Mesmero still searching for Apocalypse, is anyone surprised?  Get a clue, tattoo-boy.  You were cast aside.  Emma's White Queen?  Nooo… but she seemed so nice.  Heh.  And of course we're introduced to Mastermind and the other members of the Circle.  It's an Evolized version of the Hellfire club and its infamous Inner Circle.  Didn't exactly say who Black King and Queen were, but no doubt you can figure it out.  Come on, I all but handed them to you.  The reference to an emotion-mutant from Salem, Massachusetts was Misery from Comet-hime's 'Triangle' story.  Ah, vibranium  Tough stuff.  That, plus adamantium, was used to make Captain America's shield, which is one tough piece of weaponry.  Other properties include what was mentioned above.  Lockheed becoming a pet of Kitty's?  Come on, you saw that coming.  Who is this mysterious, asian redhead?  With nails that cut through magazine paper and has a terrible grudge against one of the x-girls?  You'll see soon enough.  And now Jean's not acting quite like herself.  Any guesses what happened to her?  Anyone?  The answer will shock you.  Next chapter, the plot thickens yet again (how much thicker can I make it, I wonder?) as the groups are brought into proper conflict.

DoubleL27: Yeah, I thought that'd be a fitting fate.  Especially since most Remy fans seem to forget that underneath his suave charm, goatee, and cute eyes… he's a frickin' criminal!  Just a little reality slap for them.  Glad you like the intro of Lockheed.  And actually, one of those voices wasn't referring to Jean.  One of them was the girl above, talking about Sarah.  Jean isn't the only one with a target on her back.

Evan fan: Neither have I, but he is indeed cute.  At least what few pictures I saw of him.  Plus I figured, what sort of pet would an X-Man have, but something really weird?  Hehe.  Glad you liked Jamie and the New Recruits, prepare for the arrival of your lovable Morlock soon enough.

Sandoz: Awwww, you figured out my evil plot with the elevator.  Crafty Sandoz.  I thought you'd like the intro of Lockheed, since you're such a Kitty fan.  As well as I -knew- you'd love what I did to Remy.  Its not death but it's a nice kick in the face, I think.  And yes, you've guessed it, right on the nose.

Risty: Ding, ding!  That's two winners.  You and Sandoz figured it out, congratulations!  And glad you liked where this is all going, I had some trouble with some ideas but I think it all worked out.  Plus, I just really wanted to include Lockheed somehow.

Oceanbang: It's not Bishop.  No Bishop, no time-traveling, thank you very much.  Like Evo, I've decided not to involve time-traveling or aliens or magic (well, alright not a lot of it) in my stories.  It just seems better this way.

Fluffy's Number 1 Gal: Well sure, that's fine, they can be on the de-militarized island.  And thank you for this info, I do try and be as accurate in my stories as I can, but sometimes I just can't be.  Glad you're enjoying the rest though.

ViciousAssassin: First of all, thank you for pointing out that error of mine.  I fixed it, and I've gotten better at catching them myself, but sometimes they just slip through.  Now Hank isn't that bad, he's just getting his own little revenge after all the Danger Room sessions with those darn New Recruits.  Just one awful crime for Remy, because the item in question didn't belong to some fat, overly rich person who could've afforded its loss.  It was for charity.  If they jailed him for everything he did, he'd be locked up for the rest of his natural life.  Kurt and Amanda aren't doing quite what you think they are.  Amanda made Kurt promise 'just one night' in Blue Christmas's extra chapter.  But they are enjoying one another's company, alone.  And yeah, Lance and Lockheed might headbutt a little in future, but that'll come later.

Princess Myra: Its just a baby dragon, ya know… not like its gonna terrorize Bayville.  Glad you enjoyed the fate I gave Remy, since some had been rather loud and passionate about a gruesome death for the Cajun.  But I try to appease all my fans.

Star-of-chaos: Fitting, isn't it?  And much better than Remy's death.  But he does need to learn something about breaking the law.

Rogue14: Nonono.  If Jason had been that girl, she'd have brown hair and mismatched eyes.  When I said think X2, think someone else.  Someone with an obsession with her -nails-.  -Nails.-

Comet-hime: You know me, I try to include everyone in my stories, hero and villain.  And yeah, that Rogue-Remy scene was just a teensy bit inspired by you, just so you know.  And yeah, I thought the glass separation was pretty sad, but it shows how much restraint both of them have.  New new recruits.  Some of yours, actually, with your permission, plus a number of canon and OC's of my own, aged down to make them suitable as the new mutants.  As always, can't wait to see your piccies of baby Lockheed (even though I loved your larger-than-life one of him).

Todd fan: I thought you might, but how am I evilly clever?  You mean putting Remy in jail?  Well, glad you like Kitty's new pet.

The Rogue Witch: Well its glad to see one of my favorite reviewers back to share her opinions with me.  And don't worry, Emma is just acting, as you can see above.  That's what she's really like, of course.  Glad you liked the introduction of Lockheed, and it seems you loved even more the imprisonment of lovable Remy.  And yes, Jean went to Muir Island before in the story 'Weapon X24.'  Elements of that (and all my past stories) interact with this one.

Lamarquise: Okay, whatever comic Jean may be, Evo Jean was evil to begin with.  Anyone who saw Shadowdance knows that for her own selfish reasons she strung along both Scott and Duncan for that dance, and then acted all upset when Scott got snatched away from her.  She's improved in Evo, but she started out a spoiled cheerleader who was a hypocrite and a bitch.  However, as I say that, I also say she has improved considerably since being knocked off her high-horse as Queen of Bayville.  Now exposed as a mutant and having dumped Duncan, she is much improved.  She even broke the rules once to allow herself and Scott to have fun on that Caribbean Cruise.  But she still isn't and will never be my favorite.  Don't fret though, she'll have a befitting fate.

X0001: Oh you'll see soon enough, believe you me.

Lyranfan: Why would he?  Lockheed is Kitty's pet, and if Lance makes her happy, it'd want not to interfere.  Oh don't worry there'll be conflict in that later.  Glad you liked the little things like Remy and Hank's teaching style (I figure he's like that too.  Show them how its done, then let 'em figure it out).  I mean, he built his own shelter so its not like they don't have a model.

SperryDee: I wouldn't know, I'm not a rabid Gambit fan.  I'm more of a obsessed-with-X23 fan.  Remy stays in jail for the moment, but don't fret he'll be back.  Glad you liked the intro of Lockheed and the rest of the developing plot.


	7. VII

****

Two weeks passed.

Professor Xavier returned from his trip to Muir Island, surprised and more than a little astonished to see his students returned from their vacation in Hawaii. More surprised of course to see their latest addition, but all he did was smile and offer a welcome to the little Lockheed. Living amongst mutants for so many years, in addition to being a powerful telepath, had made it nearly impossible to truly rattle Professor X.

Jean was sick during this time, spending the majority of her time up in her room, often retiring early with complaints of a headache. A keen observer might've noticed it was shortly before Scott arrived home on the days from work, but no one noticed anything out of the ordinary. Except perhaps Scott. That was why, on that Saturday morning, he took her to the gazebo after breakfast to talk.

Jean was, however, not the only student having a rough week. Sarah's nightmares had returned, and though she'd managed to keep herself from wrecking her room every time she had one (an infrequent occurrence during her first few years at the Institute), she still woke up shivering cold, her limbs shaky.

"Why won't you leave me alone," she whispered softly, huddling in her bedcovers, staring out the window at the rising sun.

Every time she had this particular dream, it was always the same. She was back in the Hydra compound, a scared fourteen-year old girl in that hated Hydra uniform. The rain was everywhere, pouring down, making the ground slick and muddy, making the uniform cling to her uncomfortably. And all around were her enemies. Her siblings. Monsters.

Some were fully grown, like her pseudo-brother X24, who stood upright in the red armor-uniform that Sarah had fought him in. It was still covered in the slashes of their fight, ripped to pieces, and his flesh underneath looked positively horrible, terrible wounds still visible. He should've been dead. But he lived.

Around him stood their siblings, some half or wholly dead, some not even fully grown, shambling fetuses and dead babies. Their flesh ran like mud in the rain, but they shambled around Sarah, swarming around her like zombies. Adamantium and bone claws poked from their flesh, through fingers and feet and fists, as misshapen as the rest of them.

They surrounded Sarah, she could not run, she could not fight. She barely had time to scream.

And that was always when she awoke.

"What do they mean?" she asked, rubbing her knuckles as she always did when she nervous. It reassured her, in a strange way, to have the adamantium under her skin. She'd lived with it so long she scarcely noticed anymore. It was part of her.

What did the dream mean? X24 was dead, his body was obliterated by the blast at the Hydra installation. And so had the rest of her siblings, torn up and destroyed in the very same blast. Surely none of them could've survived.

Or could they?

"And in global news, there has been reports of yet more meteors strikes, similar to those that happened less than a month ago. We have here the reports from the Luna space station of several more of these meteors striking the surface of the moon. Apparently the one that struck the uninhabited island of Hawaii slid past the surface of the moon, barely escaping its gravity. We should thank our lucky stars that more didn't. We have here the image…"

Ororo muted the anchor man's voice, peering more closely at the screen. More vibranium? Hank had been testing the small batch they had. Its properties were amazing. It might even be useful in the Danger Room, making course runs that even Logan would find challenging. But that didn't concern her.

What did concern her… was what if someone else got to it first?

Ororo slipped to her feet, walking briskly to Professor Xavier's office to speak with him.

"Jean, is something wrong?" asked Scott, leaning against the rim of the Gazebo's railing, peering over at her curiously.

"Nothing," she replied, her tone light, her stance relaxed. "Just not feeling well these past few days, is all."

"You haven't been feeling well for the past two weeks," he replied casually. "Ever since you came back from your trip to Muir Island. Did something happen Jean? Did you have another power surge?"

"Of course not," she said, her brow furrowing as she peered at him with her green eyes. "I… oh, look, its Kurt and Rogue! Hey guys!" she cried out, waving them over.

"Vhat's up?" asked Kurt, 'porting over onto the railing, clinging to its with his toes. Rogue floated over after him, hanging on the opposite side.

"Nothing important," replied Scott quickly. "Me and Jean were just talking," he said, putting extra emphasis on that last word.

"Oh sorry… we were on our way, weren't we bro?" asked Rogue, not bothering to wait for Kurt's reply before gently grabbing him by the collar and yanking him (gently, they were family after all) into the air to give Jean and Scott some privacy. They certainly didn't get much of it these days.

"Wait, I… oh darn…" grumbled Jean.

"Jean, what is wrong with you? You are not yourself," said Scott.

"Of course I'm not myself!" roared Jean, startling Scott and nearly sending him over the edge of the balcony and down to the rocks like a certain statue of Mystique had once done. The irony of the situation was about to fully impact on him. Jean started crying, and as she cried… she shifted. She changed.

She changed shape.

Pale white skin turned to startling blue. Soft green eyes turned to harsh yellow. Her red hair shifted and grew longer, becoming a much brighter, unnatural color red. And she grew much taller. Her clothes changed as well, becoming black, skin-tight latex halter and skirt, with matching boots and a strap wrapped around her right arm.

Mystique.

"Jean, you… what… what've you done with her?!" shouted Scott. At his yell, Kurt 'ported and Rogue swooped in, shocked by their unexpected guest.

"Answer me!" shouted Scott, grabbing Mystique and threatening to throw her over the balcony. But what he saw next shocked him. So much so he nearly dropped her to the same fate her statue had shared.

She was crying.

"Scott! Stop it!" shouted Rogue as she spotted the same thing. She had no love for Mystique either, but she swooped in and grabbed Scott's arms, restraining him gently. Struggle all he might, he couldn't break her iron-hard grip.

"I could not do it," murmured Mystique, dropping to her knees and sobbing openly. "I can't… it hurts too much."

"What've you done with Jean!" shouted Scott angrily. Rogue's grip was unbreakable, but if he didn't like the answer he's shake his head violently and throw off his shades.

"I did nothing but replace her… that's all they wanted me to do. Keep you all busy…"

"Who?! Who're you working for, Mystique?!" shouted Scott angrily.

"The Circle."

"The Circle are a secret organization that is world-wide, with only one goal," explained Mystique. "Power."

The X-Men were gathered in the control room, keeping a close eye on their interloper. Sarah and Logan stood by the doorway, and their look suggested that if Mystique tried taking even a step towards the exit, there'd only be pieces by the time they were done with her. Ororo and Hank were behind the blue shapeshifter, keeping her away from the computer system. And that left Charles, Scott, Kurt, Rogue, Kitty, Piotr and Bobby watching her from the center of the room.

"They took over the Legacy company three years back when Spears was arrested by you all," continued on Mystique. "They were his board of directors, though they kept their identities secret and hidden. Their true identities, at least. You," she said, turning to regard Scott, "have already met them. Or did perhaps it seem too obvious that they took a liking to you, a 'filthy mutant'?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"But… who…?"

"Open your eyes, Summers!" she hissed. "Emma Frost, for one."

"Emma? You can't be…" Scott started to say. Goddamnit, she clung to him worse than Taryn ever had, but this? An evil organization that sounded worse than Hydra? No way, he couldn't believe it.

"The accident was faked."

Scott looked on, stunned, his defense of Emma vanishing like dust in the wind as Mystique continued on, as if she hadn't noticed.

"The Circle set up the accident, rigged the elevator to fall at the precise moment that only Scott and Emma were on it. The plan was to get closer to you, Summers. You've been used."

"But why Jean… if they wanted her why go through me?" he asked, then suddenly regretted it. He knew damn well why.

Mystique did too.

"The Circle craves power in all forms. And Jean is powerful. I cannot say for certain who are members of the Circle, but during my time their, I managed to identify the White Queen, which was Emma… and also the Black Bishop. He goes by the name Jason Wyngarde in the Legacy company. But you know him better as Mastermind. Magneto's lackey telepath."

"What does this have to with Jean?"

"The Circle has become aware of Jean's trouble controlling her mental powers. This, coupled with her, shall we say, love life," she added, glancing meaningfully at Scott. He knew exactly what Mystique meant, and his cheeks flushed. "The Circle used Emma to make this conflict worse, and then Mastermind would find it easier to, shall we say… mold her memories."

"You brainwashed her?!" shouted Scott, rising angrily to his feet. Rogue gently restrained him, holding his shoulder. Reluctantly, he sat back down. But all could see he was very afraid now. Afraid for Jean.

"Now Jean is the Black Queen, and second only to their leader. His identity I have not been able to confirm. They had me replace Jean for the time being, until such time as they deemed fit to reveal themselves."

"Yet you seem to have betrayed them, Mystique," stated Professor Xavier, after a moments thoughts. Nearby, Logan growled. Everyone knew what he thought about betrayal.

"I agreed to do this only because they forced me," replied Mystique haughtily. She crossed her arms across her chest. "They threatened the lives of my children."

"As if you care about us," muttered Rogue.

"I…" started Mystique, her voice instantly softening. But, seeing her efforts would be again futile, she hardened her heart and closed her mouth. "I owe the Circle nothing."

"Then lead us to them. Help us get Jean back," said Scott, standing again. This time, Rogue did not stop him… she joined him. Mystique quickly found herself surrounded by unfriendly faces.

"I do not know where she is. I was taken to her plane after the arrangement, told to fly back here in her form. I know nothing further."

"Then we'll use Cerebro," said the Professor, clicking the control to his wheelchair to guide himself out of the room.

"Everyone, suit up," ordered Scott. "Logan, keep an eye on our guest here?"

The shorter man nodded, barely suppressing a smile. Despite the tension, it was good to see Scott take charge. Whenever he did, things got done.

"Alright then team, move out. Soon as we have coordinates, we go and get Jean back." And to that, no one could argue as they headed to the lower levels to grab their X-Men uniforms.

The X-Men's uniforms had changed over the last two years, Mystique noticed immediately. Black had replaced the former dark blue color, the X symbol was more prominent, and more skin was visible. Each uniform was, as before, custom designed to its owner. Rogue wore thrown over her black uniform Gambit's trenchcoat. Storm had altered the cape that now flowed from her back to her wrists. Beast had finally managed to make a fitting uniform to cover his chest and arms. Iceman had now altered his entire uniform from the standard black to a white and pale blue ensemble. This was quickly masked when he iced up. As she could clearly see, as they gathered before her, the X-Men had changed.

Wolverine grunted behind Mystique in what could only be approval of the fighting force gathered before them.

"Alright team," said Scott. Or as he was now, Cyclops. "Let's move out. Beast, prep the jet. Everyone else to Cerebro."

They found Professor X on their way to Cerebro. Apparently, he hadn't made it that far. He lay on the ground, his wheelchair overturned, unconscious. Shadowcat gently helped him back into his wheelchair as Rogue tipped it back over. Professor X regained consciousness, blinking his eyes awake.

"I… I saw him… I saw into his mind… it overpowered me. I was unprepared," he said slowly. "This Black King Mystique told us of… is a formidable foe. Very powerful."

"Why did he attack you, Charles?" asked Beast.

"No, no…" murmured Professor X. "It wasn't an attack… it was a message. Delivered in an unspeakably brutal way, but he was sending a message… he… he was telling me where they plan to go. What they plan to do."

"Why would they do that?" asked Iceman.

"Because this has been their plan all along," replied Professor X. "Now that they have Jean, they want us out of the way. And I see now…" he started to say, then stopped. He tapped the control on his wheelchair. "Back to the control room. I'll show you."

"They sent me three distinct messages, all at once… more than one of them barraging me. My defenses could not hold from all three, so I was overwhelming," stated Professor X. "But the messages indicated they were attacking three distinctly different places. Here," he said, tapping the screen. "Here… and here. These three spots."

"Divide and Conquer," muttered Cyclops. "They want us to spread out, and they'll probably only be at one of those places. And the unlucky team that goes there gets splattered against the wall before the other two can react."

"Vunderbar," muttered Nightcrawler.

"It seems to be our only option. Unless you, Mystique, have any answers for us?"

The blue shapeshifter shook her head.

Cyclops took a long look at the screen. The first spot indicated was right here, in Bayville New York. The second was up in space, in the orbiting space station Luna. And the third was far, far away in what was formerly the Soviet Union, and now Russia. Near the home of Colossus, no less.

The key to understanding an enemy's moves is to know what they want, thought Cyclops. But what did they want?

"Alright. We'll divide up," said Cyclops finally, after careful thought.

"Uh, question," said Iceman, raising his hand like he was in class. "Isn't that what they want us to do? Shouldn't we stick together?"

"They make it appear like they want us to split up," replied Cyclops, tapping the screen. "This is an invitation. I say we meet them."

"Alright, who goes where?" asked Rogue, folding her arms across her chest.

"I've thought very carefully about this. Beast, Storm, Wolverine. You three will take this spot in Russia and find out what they want there. Take Mystique with you, in case she conveniently remembers anything. Any objections?" he asked darkly to the shapeshifter.

She sneered. "I told you, I have no loyalty to the Circle," she stated.

"I should accompany them," added Colossus. "My sister is near there… perhaps it is her…"

"No Colossus," replied Cyclops. "I need anyone who goes to be focused on the mission. You're coming with my team. Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue, Iceman. You all are with me. We'll be visiting the Luna station."

"X23, you stay here with the rest of the other kids. Guard the Institute and the Professor. And be ready to move in case this area in Bayville is really a trouble zone. Something tells me its just a decoy though."

X23 snapped off a rough salute, nodding.

The teams broke up, each going their separate ways. Most headed for the hangar, Cyclops's team taking the Blackbird (the only one of their ships capable of achieving orbit, as well as providing oxygen to its crew) while Wolverine's grabbed the XM-Velocity and prepared to head to Russia. Professor X and X23 watched them go, as did some of the New Recruits still playing out on the lawn. They had yet no idea what was going on.

But they would soon find out. Professor X had just issued telepathic summons for everyone to meet him in the living room.

As they all gathered there, Rahne stopped, sniffing the air. She could've sworn she caught the scent of… sakura blossoms? Here, in Bayville? Nah, must've been her imagination. She bounded in, taking a seat next to Sam on the couch.

Unnoticed by all at the Institute, the redheaded girl watched as the Blackbird and the XM-Velocity took off into the air. She lowered her binoculars, tapping the communicator attached to her wrist.

"They're on the move. My quarry is still inside."

"Excellent work. She is all yours. I would so hate to interrupt a reunion of sisters."

The Japanese girl grinned, ripping off the communicator and tossing it into the bushes, along with the binoculars. Then, she leapt up and grabbed the back of a passing truck, leaping down from the rooftops where she'd been watching the Institute. Now she had to get to the stage.

And then X23's curtain would fall.

**Author's Notes:**

X23's nightmare is identical to one she had way back in 'Weapon X24.' Seems she hasn't yet put them to rest, and you'll be seeing why soon enough. Mystique's appearance as Jean shouldn't have terribly surprised anyone who read the last chapter and noticed 'Jean' was acting peculiar. Now you know the whole deal. Mastermind, White Queen, Mesmero, a-yet-unknown Black King (surprise, surprise), and now the infamous Phoenix. And even some Hellions to deal with. Originals, canon? No! Evo lovable's all. Well, okay, my one OC from earlier will be back, and you'll find out who she is. Or rather, what she is. I'd say the X-Men have their work cut out for them. Their new uniforms are, of course, the ones we saw in the scenes from 'Ascension.' I added the custom white and blue to Iceman's despite that we never saw it. I'm also giving new uniforms to the New Recruits, so just wait and you'll see those to. Wolverine's uniform is the same. Next time, Divide and Conquer.

Risty: Stylish? Showgirls wear more than Emma does. Still, no complaints from me. And if you think the Circle is motley, consider how the X-Men are. At least most of my Circle have the same (or similar) powers. That was planned, of course. Glad you're enjoying the plot and character developement.

Pixie Stix Addict: Maybe something like that, but you know Jean. The bitch can't seem to stay dead. And yeah I agree, Emma's better evil. How is Lucas a pervert?! They're the same age (more or less). Mesmero's such a poor fellow. Even clearly abandoned by Apocalypse he stays loyal. Sinister isn't one of my favs either, if for no other reason than he generally has 'Mr.' before his name. The serum? It affects bio-chemistry.

Star-of-chaos: Delicious. And yeah, Mesmero is the lazy and spineless sort, isn't he? Oh but he's crafty, don't under-estimate him. Conjugal visits? From who, Rogue? Its not like they're married, they've barely reached kissing. Catfights later, promise, until then yeah, better bow for Her Majesty.

ViciousAssassin: Ding, ding. You win. You guessed every frickin' one of 'em. Not Lady Deathstrike no. But someone else, and yes its someone with a grudge against X23. Mystique, heck yeah. Glad you're enjoying the plot and the characterization, though it seems I can't slip anything past you unless I outright lie. Ah well.

Sandoz: Actually I stole that from one of the stories about Drizz't. But its still a damn good line. 'course Jean is evil. We hates her, donts we, my precious? We hates Jeanses forever. Gotta love Lockheed, how can you hate a baby purple dragon? And you might not have read 'Weapon X24.' Read that, and you'll probably figure out the girl's identity.

Rogue14: It's not Lady Deathstrike! It's someone equally obsessed with her nails.

SperryDee: Revanche? Who the F is that?! And no, it isn't. Its someone I created myself, so everybody quit panicking it's a canon character or, god forbid, Lady Deathstrike.

Todd fan: You have the dirtiest mind known to mankind! Don't ever lose it!

Oceanbang: Well you know who the girl is now, and it's not Deathstrike. And also the Black King, since I spoiled it for you (Gambit, please). And now you've clearly found out who the Jean-with-Scott really is. Surprised?

X0001: Of course she's a bad guy! What did you expect, that I would make nice-Emma fall in love with Scott and ruin whatever respect I had left for him? Phwesh. In the words of Pyro "Not Bloodae Likely."

UniversalAnimeGirl: Telepaths, definitely. Struck me as appropriate, somehow. Plus it's a nice way to bring some underused Evo characters together. And recall if you will. Lucas is the bad guy, David is the good guy, and they share a body. Ian's kinda-semi-neutral. Yup, you figured it out. Yuriko's clone, not Yuriko herself. Funky shots indeed. And I think Rogue's clothes gain a portion of her invulnerability when she wears them, since she gets blasted or knocked around plenty and they rarely get damaged. As for the necklace, I never noticed one. I'll look into that. Hellion's are definitely different. Apart from my OC and the canon character of Emma, all the characters are Evo. No, no other aliens other than Lockheed. I'm avoiding the whole Shi'ar and M'kron crystal involvement. Cosmic? Nay… biblical proportions. Hope you enjoy the ride.

CrypticIdentity: One, no. Two, yes. Three, no. No Lady Deathstrike. And yeah, while that's the jist of what happened to Rogue, it's a lot more in-depth to her character, and I recommend Annihilation. When you have time, of course.

Tori H.: A lot of characters changed in the transition from comic to Evo. Overall, I've liked them. Evo is my favorite, even stacked up to the comics, TAS and movie versions of the X-Men. You didn't see evil Emma coming? I'm surprised. But shocks are good. Prepare for plenty more.

Lyranfan: That would indeed be difficult. But trust me, Kitty can have both boyfriend and pet. It'll just take some getting used to. Her biggest worry now are enough fire extinguishers. And glad you're enjoying the Inner Circle and its members.

Princess Myra: Pity. I'll warn you a chapter prior then. I don't know a great deal about the club either, other than its prestigious. All I really know is who leads it and that they're all mutants, called the Inner Circle. And yup, it wasn't Jean. I'm not very subtle, am I?

The Rogue Witch: Yeah but most people forget about minor characters. Not I. And no, its not Deathstrike, but someone awfully similar. Yes I know, hussy Emma is better than cutsey innocent Emma, but that side was all an act. Or was it? And of course purple alien space dragons for all. No it's not Jean. As you can see in this chapter, it definitely wasn't her.

Comet-hime: Yeah, seems everyone wants to use him. Poor Day. Glad you liked that Emma and Jean are now wearing matching skin-tight suits. Hopefully it will inspire artwork. And yes, your artwork did inspire that article that you-know-who was reading. Not quite Playmutant but its still rather nice. You did draw a pic of her! With her rival and their big bro between them. Believe me, plenty of descriptions and backgrounds and characters to come. But after you-know-what.


	8. VIII

"Go to the closed mall on the southern edge of Bayville.  The one under reconstruction.  Our time has come."

"And that's all he said?" asked Lance, arms folded across his chest.  He didn't like this one bit.

He had been quite content to enjoy a day off for once, relaxing on the couch watching TV.  Simpsons, to be specific.  John simply could not get enough of the animated characters of Matt Groening.  He could quote entire episodes, right down to the nit gritty voices and accents.  The others at the Brotherhood boarding house tended to just ignore him, let him mutter to himself.  Since he roomed in the basement (a necessary choice considering the walls were made of cement) he was rarely a problem to deal with.  Just during meals and television time.

As it was, he had joined Lance and Freddy to enjoy the show.  Wanda and Todd were out back, talking on the porch.  And it had all been quite peaceful... until Pietro had rocketed down the stairs and switched off the tv, then ran to the back door and shouted outside to his sister and her favorite punching bag to get inside.

Then he'd just told them all that Magneto had called on his cell phone, and given them that message.

"Since when does Magneto care about us anymore anyway?" asked Lance.  "Last we heard from him was a whole two years ago.  Even you two barely get anything more than a card at Chanukah," he went on, indicating the twins.  He managed to totally mangle the name of the Jewish holiday, however.

"Look, I know my dad, that was him... and when he wants something, he tends to get it," replied Pietro.

"Like your loyalty?" asked Wanda darkly under her breath.  Pietro immediately shut up, put in his place. 

"Aw what the hell, I say we go," said Fred, struggling to his feet out of his recliner.  His girth had increased considerably over the last two years, partly because of his eating, partly because of his mutation.  Now he was the size of a small buick.  And twice as ugly, as Toad was wont to quip.

"Yeah, its not like we had a busy schedule to adhere to," said Todd, hopping down off the wall to land next to Wanda.

"But... but... but... Simpsons!" said John, pointing a trembling finger at the television.  Lance grunted, glancing over at it.

"It's a re-run."

"Let's roll, team!  Hahahaha!"

Lance rolled his eyes, sometimes wishing he had decided to join the X-Men instead of the Brotherhood.  But then again, without his leadership the knuckleheads would've fallen apart or killed each other long ago.

So it was the Brotherhood suited up into their new uniforms.  A year or so back, seeing the X-Men in their flashy new duds on the television, Quicksilver had taken it upon himself to give the Brotherhood their new look.  Having acquired the materials he needed by the usual means (high-speed theft) and crafting them in the same way he'd made his own uniform, so long ago, he'd completely redesigned the Brotherhood uniforms.  Except his sister's, of course.  That had been her work.

They'd suited up, piled into Avalanche's jeep and were off for the closed mall.  Thankfully, it was dark by the time they arrived, and they slid into the parking lot with no trouble (parking across three handicapped spaces in the process, of course).  So they piled out, peering up at the great building.  The sign hadn't even been completed, and the glass was all dark inside.  The western corner was still under construction, and steel bars poked out like the bones of a ribcage.

"Shadowy, hard and overly impressive... definitely Magneto's style," remarked Lance, adjusting the goggles covering his face.  A replacement for his long-forgotten helmet.  He'd had enough 'fruit bowl' jokes.  "Let's head in then... everyone stay close.  I really am not enjoying the feel of this place."

"Agreed," stated the Scarlet Witch.  She felt a chill run down her spine.  "Let's see father and leave this place as soon as possible," she said, zapping off a quick hex-bolt at the doors and having them slam wide open, admitting the Brotherhood into the dark empty food court of the mall.

It was quiet.  Deafeningly quiet.  Avalanche had seen enough horror movies to know how these sorts of things wound up.  It was starting to get on his nerves.

"Helllloooo?!  Anyone here, yo?!" asked Toad, 'causing Avalanche to whirl around and smack him soundly on the head.

"Don't you have any sense of subtlety?!" hissed Avalanche through clenched teeth.  Nearby, Quicksilver and his sister nodded, their expressions dark.  Toad obediently shut his mouth.

Suddenly, the lights lit up.  Everything came to life, and the escalators started moving.  The mall's system was up and running.

_Oh no, not good_, thought Avalanche.  "Quick, everyone..." he started to say.  Too late for that as well.  Even as he watches, the doors shut.  No, not just shut.  Two new steel doors slammed shut over them, sealing them inside.  And as they watched, the room quickly sealed, every window, door and the like.  Every exit.  Every escape.

Quicksilver zipped into action, but too late the trap was sprung, and he slammed ineffectively against one of the doors just as it slammed shut.  Grunting, he rushed back to the re-join the others.

"Blob!  Make a door!" he shouted.

"Out of my waaaayyy!!" roared the Blob.  He charged at the original entrance to the mall, slamming his entire body full force into it.  He barely left a dent, and nearly lost his balance as he stumbled backwards.  "What the...?"

"Inches thick," remarked Quicksilver, running a hand along the dent.  "Okay, new plan... uhm... Avalanche?"

"I'm thinking!" growled the Brotherhood's real leader.  Typical of Quicksilver, whenever things didn't go his way he panicked.

Unfortunately, Avalanche didn't have much time to formulate a plan.  One of the walls (a closed McDonalds in the food court) slid up and open.  However, on the other side wasn't a cash register and stale burgers.  It was lasers.  Big ones.

"Think faster!" shouted Quicksilver, as the Brotherhood ducked for cover, sans the Blob who wouldn't have found any at any rate.  Toad shot out a glob of goo that stopped one of the energy blasters.  Blob ripped the second out with his bare hands, and as the smoke cleared the Brotherhood stood on shaky feet.

"Good work Toad," said Avalanche, giving him a hearty slap on the back.

"Too early for congratulations!" shouted Scarlet Witch, pointing a trembling finger.

The food court was open.  Unfortunately, as before, no counters, no cashiers, no frying pans and utensils and covered straws.  Lasers, razor disks, cannonballs, and all manner of deadly traps.  If they did not know better, certain members of the Brotherhood would've sworn they were in the Danger Room.

On maximum lethal settings.

"Get down!"

"Oh man, this is the best game ever!  Those board members really have some good people in graphics.  I can almost feel how real this all is."

Weber Torque, better known to many by his computer alias of Arcade, tapping in a few keys.  Boom.  "Yeah, alright!  Oh you are not getting away from me this time.  Not like the last players did.  They were good, and so're you," he added, noticing one of the other players having disabled his first attack.  "But I'm better," he added, tapping another key.  Woosh.  Oooh, so close.  Decapitation for sure next time.

"Man, these upgrades are awesome," he said, light from the computer reflecting off his glasses.  "And I love this new map.  Abandoned mall complex.  Oh yeah, good stuff.  I really wish I could get one of those characters too.  Maybe after I get them all I can ask how they go about it."

Arcade didn't know any better.  He thought he was testing out a computer game for the Legacy's entertainment division.  He thought maybe his opponents were just other geeks and geekettes at other computer terminals worldwide.  But in reality...

He was trying to kill the Brotherhood.

Another razor-disk went flying towards Avalanche's head, but Scarlet Witch hex-bolted it so its trajectory was off, and in fact it slammed into an identical one heading towards the Blob.  Avalanche thrust out a hand and let the earth roll like water, slamming into and knocking down some lasers that'd sprung out of the flooring on the first level of the mall.  Quicksilver was quick to zip ahead and finish off any that were left, using a baseball bat he'd picked up from sporting goods.  Seems the entire mall hadn't been converted into a death-trap.

Just most of it.

"Any bright ideas?!" shouted the Blob, catching a cannonball meant for his buddy Toad and hurling it back at the cannon it had come from, smashing it to pieces.

"Yeah, keep moving!" shouted Avalanche.  Realizing the main door was not a suitable exit, the Brotherhood had taken on the move, searching for another way out.

Of course, the entire mall was a huge death-trap.  Nearly every piece of it had been converted into some manner of weaponry, weaponry now all trained on the six young mutants that made up the Brotherhood.  However, one section was still under construction.  Avalanche was gambling that it was less well defended there, and they could break out.

If they made it that far.

Pyro ducked behind Blob as another cannonball went hurling his way, quickly returning fire with a blast from the flame thrower on his arm.  It barely singed the machine.  Pyro was decidedly out of his league here.  So was Avalanche, since in order to use his powers properly he'd run the risk of having the mall's second floor collapse on the first.  Crushing his teammates.

A stray laser blast caught the Scarlet Witch in the leg and she stumbled, quickly losing her balance and falling backwards, clutching her bleeding appendage.  Toad was at her side in an instant, picking her up in his arms and leaping them both out of the way of further attacks.

"Thanks," she managed to hiss out painfully.

"No problem," he replied.

Realized they couldn't run much further, Avalanche gave out some new orders.  Back into a corner.  His teammates safely behind him, the Immovable Blob could then stand in front, keeping them safe from attack.  For now at least.  It gave them some breathing room while Avalanche tried to come up with a better idea.  However, he didn't have a chance.  From the second level of the mall, a great metal sphere the size of a boulder started to roll down the converted escalator, heading straight towards them.  And with something that size, even if it didn't hurt Blob, it'd knock him back and crush the rest of the Brotherhood.  Grimly, the bald teen dug his feet into the ground and braced himself.

However, before it reached them, the great metal sphere shuddered once, then rolled to a stop, inches from Blob's face.  And in the almost exact same instant, a great ripple filled the room, and everything stopped.  No more lasers, no more razor disks, no more cannonballs.

Quicksilver nervously peeked out from behind Blob's massive body at the metal sphere that had stopped just inches away from crushing them all.

"What happened?"

His answer came in the form of every metallic thing in the room shudder again, violently.  They crushed in on them selves, ripped clear out of the walls, and soon the entire mall-death-trap was utterly destroyed.  The glass ceiling's metal frame ripped clear out, allowing clear passage as their savior made himself known, floating down to land before them in a flutter of dark purple cape.

Magneto.

"About time you showed up," said Avalanche darkly.  "If this was some kinda test then you can forget it.  I'm heading home."

"Be silent, Avalanche," stated Magneto, his voice equally dark, and deadly serious.  "This was no test of mine.  This was a trap to eliminate the Brotherhood as a threat.  That call was faked," he added meaningfully, glaring at Quicksilver.

"Wot?!  By oo?!  Oo would want ta take us out?" asked Pyro, pushing his way past Quicksilver and out from behind the Blob to stand before Magneto.

"They call themselves the Circle," replied Magneto.  "I erred when I dealt with them, thinking they would keep their word and protect you all.  They have betrayed me, and brought you here to kill you all."

"Then I say we return the favor!" replied Avalanche, smacking a fist into his open palm.

"Agreed.  You all come with me," ordered Magneto.  "We'll deal with the source of this."

"Todd, stay here with Wanda," said Avalanche as he and the others jogged to catch up with their semi-leader Magneto.  Todd nodded eagerly, gently placing Wanda down on the ground now that they were out of danger.

She was still conscious, still aware of everything.  Mostly aware of the intense pain in her leg.  The energy blast had sliced past her, missing actually, so it'd more grazed than anything else.  But it still hurt abysmally.

"Wait here Wanda," said Todd, trying to keep his voice soothing to comfort her.  "I'll go break into the CVS we saw a few stores back, maybe they got a first aid kit or something," he added as he hopped off to get her help.

Wanda lay back and sighed deeply, closing her eyes as she waited for Todd to return.  Damnit, after this she was going to have to be nicer to him.  Then he'd misinterpret her nice gestures to mean that she actually liked him and overstep his bounds, and then she'd have to hex him out a window again.  Damnit, why did he have to...

... be so nice to her?

Arcade grunted, tapping in keys, fiddling with the controls on his computer.  Damnit, maybe my connection died on me, he thought, smacking the screen lightly to see if anything changed.  It didn't.  He could still see everything, but nothing worked.  None of the traps he'd set went off.  And now four of the players, plus that really good one who'd just shown up, had just left the game.

"Damnit, and I was going for high score!" he shouted to no one in particular.

A sudden wrenching sound nearly made the poor computer gamer leap out of his seat in shock, as the door suddenly came off its hinges, ripped clean off by what a giant of a man.  Wait a minute... that was player 2!  How the hell did... what the hell is going on?!

Arcade tried to get up and turn to face those who'd just broken into his office but a metal bar slammed into him forcefully, pinning him against the wall.  What was going on?  How... oh no... that must've meant... they were mutants!  It wasn't a game!

"I hope you enjoy the irony of being slain by your own weapons, whoever you are," said Magneto, levitating in one of the razor-disks that had nearly killed his Brotherhood.  He sent it to spinning with a thought, inches away from Arcade's unprotected neck.

"Wait!  No!  You gotta believe me, I didn't know I was fighting mutants, I thought it was just a game!  Honest!"

"A game?" growled Magneto darkly.  "You think to hunt and kill mutants is a game?!"

Avalanche grabbed Magneto, who looked like he was tempted to forgo the disk and kill Arcade with his bare hands.

"Wait, Magneto... I know this guy.  He went to Bayville.  I think he's telling the truth."

"He tried to kill you all, and you want me to let him live?" asked Magneto, letting his disk continue to hover, spinning like a saw as he regarded what he knew was the Brotherhood's true leader.  Avalanche did not back down.

"We think we're better than them, right?  That we're superior.  Let's show it right now, but showing we don't have to sink to their level.  Let's show them mercy."

Magneto growled darkly, and for a long few moments stood their, thinking.  Thinking of his own ideals, of what Avalanche had just posed to him.  About Charles, and what he would have done.  All his life, Eric had tried to do what was right.  Others would label him a monster, a madman, a terrorist, or just plain evil.  He was fighting for his people.  He did not enjoy killing humans, but he felt no remorse about it either.  He had seen first hand the evils they could commit, and had felt it.  The mark on his arm would never fade, the numbers that had been branded there.  But he also knew some humans could be good.  His parents, for the brief time he'd known them, had been good.  His father had risked his life to try and find Eric after they'd been separated.  Magda had been good too, and her presence had soothed his troubled spirit.  So it was that Magneto found himself questioning his principles.

Finally, the metal bar holding Arcade and the disk both dropped to the ground harmlessly, giving the red-headed man a chance to breath.

"You have been warned," stated Magneto darkly, turning to depart.  "Next time, do not expect me to be so merciful."

And Arcade watched as the mutants grabbed up their comrades from below and departed the death-trap mall.  Now that he was out of the office, he could see for himself.  It was a trap.  He'd been used.  Tricked by the company.  But why?

He didn't know but, right now, he didn't want to know.

"They're getting my two weeks notice," he said dimly.

**Author's Notes:**

And a scene for the Brotherhood, in case you all thought I'd forgotten them.  Fat chance.  Red Witch long ago got me hooked on the lovable antics of the neglected mutants.  A glimpse into their new uniforms as well, as well as explanations for how they came into existence.  Arcade setting up death-traps?  Not entirely unthinkable, as his comic incarnation was a psychotic master of death-traps.  Evo's is just a manipulated and misunderstood geek.  And I say that in a good way.  Magneto's back, hooray, and he's a good guy again!  Double hooray!  And Wanda and Todd sharing a semi-tender moment, isn't it sweet?

SperryDee: Oh, well in that case... no it isn't her.  I told everyone, it's a frickin' OC!

Pixie Stix Addict: Rahne recognizes a lot of scents because of perfumes and colognes worn around the mansion.  Or around school.  Her nose is more powerful than Logan's, after all, just not her other senses.  And yes, yes we shall have a showdown of the Hydra clones.  And as for Prof X, be fair to him.  He has faced both Apocalypse and (in the comics at least) the Shadow King.  He's met powerful telepaths before who weren't his psychotic son.  No, Ilyana is not a sorceress.  Like Amanda, I am making her a latent mutant.  Lucas isn't a pervert.  Just... well, a jerk.

Todd fan: They're just coming out now where you live?  Hooray, then you can write about them more and better!  Hooray!  Huzzah!  Whoop-dee-doo!  More power to crazy Todd fan and her stories!

Comet-hime: Dramatic, isn't it?  I swear I use that gazebo entirely too much, but meh.  And yeah, poor Mystique for her messed-up family.  Nyx?  Is that even a word?  I thought those were initials for like New York X23.  Don't worry, plenty of fodder for your piccies, as always.  You know I love 'em.  I'm still waiting for my next issue of Playmutant.  I'm done 'reading the articles' of the first one.

ViciousAssassin: Wow, that's a mouthful.  Okay, yeah its X25.  As for dividing up the X-Men, yeah, you've got a fairly good idea of what's going on.  There is a good reason behind everything the Circle does.  As for Mystique's crying, ever hear of acting?  Or maybe the phrase 'crocodile's tears'?  Heh.  Mystique always plays on the same side.  Her own.  You can call Jean Phoenix, but neither she nor the Circle are responsible for the meteors.  But they are important later.  Well, soon, actually.  Very soon.  New Recruits get custom uniforms, same as the other X-Men.  I'm basing them off of their comic-incarnations, as you'll see later when they show up.  The Cauldron… I don't think that was space.  If it was, how did Scott and Alex survive such a fall?  I think perhaps they were simply over a very dark part of the earth (maybe one of the poles?)  As for death, not giving away spoilers.  No way sirree.  Not gonna tell.  But major yeah.

Star-of-chaos: Then let her play cards if she wants to have fun.  Not everyone needs to do the vertical tango to enjoy life ('course I speak from the perspective of someone both single and desperate, so what do I know?).  And yeah, Mystique can act but only so well.  Particular Evo Mystique.  She's decidedly more aggressive and direct than any of her previous incarnations.

Risty: Since I already revealed it, yes, its X25.  She survived… cue dramatic music.  And definently yeah more to Mystique.  And Magneto, and most X-Men villains.  That's why I love them so much.  They're more than just evil villains, they're people.

Rogue14: Working as fast as I can with the situation I'm in (being at home and dealing with class).  But yes on to the action, where my talents truly seem to lie in writing.

Crazyspacetracey: Like the Evo show, I take from the comics and try to build or improve upon it for the characters, but I'm glad you're enjoying it.  Cute name, by the way.

Nessie6: Kidnap Jean to have Mastermind brainwash her into becoming Black Queen?  It was done in the comics, so I did it here.  But yeah, the Mystique impersonation was a little twist of mine.  After all, Jean missing might've been noticed.  Complicated?  Hell yeah.  But it gets better as things move alone.  Prepare for the unexpected!

Princess Myra: You may've noticed that during those two weeks, Mystique was avoiding Scott.  She was having troubles all along, just trying to hide them.  So being in a spot where she'd "died," being confronted by Scott, and seeing both her kids?  It'd be hard for anyone to keep up the act.

Oceanbang: Sister by circumstances of birth of nothing else.  Yeah, I expect the mother of all cat-fights from the femme fatales.  Glad you liked the portrayal of Mystique and her real human vulnerability.  I don't think she's quite as evil as some people make her out to be.

CrypticIdentity: It happens, albeit rarely, when my clues happen to connect with someone.  She wasn't the voice in chapter one, that was Magneto.  She was voiced later on, as someone referred to as an actress.  As for the redheaded -japanese- lady, its X25, clone of Yuriko.  You did get it was a clone though, so have a cookie.


	9. IX

The XM-Velocity dropped down in the area Professor X had indicated, in Russia.  Thought it was summer, thick clouds obscured the sky, and it felt decidedly cold.  Still, didn't matter much to the X-Men who climbed out of the helicopter.  Their uniforms kept them well insulated against most temperature variations.

They'd landed just outside the Rasputin farm, where Piotr and his sister Ilyana had lived after their parents had passed away.  Now abandoned and for sale, the old place had a decidedly neglected air about it.

Wolverine sniffed the air, growling darkly.  "I smell trouble," he stated.  Beside him, Beast and Storm readied themselves, as did Mystique behind them.

"Good to know that old age has not dulled your wits, Weapon X," remarked a thickly-accent Russian voice, as out of the farmstead stepped an all-too familiar figure.  A figure armored in red with blonde locks and metallic tentacles extending from his arms.  Omega Red.

"Glad I am to see the Circle was successful in bringing you to me.  Or should I say us," he added meaningfully.  Too meaningfully.

Wolverine ducked down, knocking Storm aside as a rocket sliced through the air from a nearby hilltop, narrowly missing his head as it slammed into the jet, sending the X-Men flying.  Beast rolled with the impact, managing to regain his feet just as Mystique gracefully landed in a crouch.  Wolverine grunted, giving Storm a hand up, even as he noticed where the attack had come from.  There was a lone figure on the nearby hill, artfully camouflaged until he'd chosen to attack.  But now, even at this distance, his identity was clear.

Gauntlet.

"Take him out!" shouted Wolverine, popping all six of his claws and charging towards Omega Red.  The big dumb Russian obliged him, giving a similar shout of rage as he lashed out with his iron tentacles.  Wolverine gracefully flipped over them, landing foot first in Omega Red's stomach and giving him a mighty kick, landing hard on his feet as the big Russian went flying through the air and slammed into the side of the building.

A low and disturbingly familiar roar caught Wolverine's attention, and he barely had time to turn as another giant of a man slammed into his gut, barreling him into the ground.  He lashed out wildly, throwing the aggressor off, and wasn't terribly surprised to see Sabertooth.

"Nice company you're keeping these days Creed!" shouted Wolverine, regaining his feet.

"No better than yours runt!" roared Sabertooth, uprooting a nearby tree and swinging it.  Wolverine sliced clear through the branches, ripping it to pieces and then heading for its wielder, drawing back his claws and giving Sabertooth a vicious uppercut that sent the bigger mutant reeling backwards in pain.

Suddenly a tentacle coiled around Wolverine's legs, and he suddenly found himself helpless as Creed took a vicious backhand to his face, sending him reeling and off balance.  The two great enemies were going to rip him apart, and rather gleefully, in all likelihood.

A sudden crackle of thunder filled the air.

All combat paused, everyone looking skyward, even Beast and Mystique as they made their way to try and take out Gauntlet.  Above them, a storm was brewing.  In a rather literal sense.  The white-haired Windrider floated above the combatants by the Rasputin farm and regarded them darkly.

"Leave him alone," she said, her voice scarcely a whisper, yet filled with all the power of nature.  A brilliant bolt of energy shot from her hand, slamming full force into Sabertooth's chest and sending him flying through the air to slam into the barn, ripping down the washed-red paint walls.

Gauntlet discarded his used missile launcher.  It'd be useless in such close quarters.  Thus, he shrugged back his cloak and grabbed the double energy pistols at his side, laying waste to anything that moved or was blue.

Unlike Sabertooth or Omega Red, mercenaries hired by the Circle, Gauntlet was here out of loyalty.  When Hydra had collapsed, he hadn't held any illusions about its restoration.  Even the Hydra of legend couldn't come back after its neck was burnt.  Thus, he had to move on, to find greener pastures and a better organization.  And as he'd searched for it, it was he who was found.

The White Queen had approached him and decided to use him as a Hellion.  Used was as polite a term as it got, but at least he got paid and he got to do what he liked best.  Kill people, basically.

Gauntlet opened fire, blasting clear through an overturned tractor where the big blue Beast had just ducked for cover.  He lost sight of Mystique, and that worried him.  Well, marginally.  If anyone approached, regardless of who they looked like, he'd just shoot them too.  Gauntlet was only mildly startled when Beast lifted up the over-turned tractor and hurled it at him.  He rolled aside, landing in a crouch, and opened fire again.  The idiot had just deprived himself of cover, after all.  Easy enough.  His cybernetic eye took aim, locked Beast in the cross-hairs, and his finger started to close on the trigger...

... and then suddenly dropped both his guns, grabbing at his throat as a thick metallic tentacle wrapped around his throat.

"Don't fret, Dr. McCoy," came the sly voice of Mystique.  "I have this one.  He won't be any further trouble."

"Please don't kill him," replied Beast, making his way over towards them to grab up Gauntlet's guns.  Cursing, the mercenary grunted as his air was cut off by the tightening tentacle, and he collapsed unconscious.  Mystique stepped over him, slamming her boot into his stomach as she reverted to her proper form, slipping out of the Omega Red disguise she'd adopted.  Not for espionage, for the use of his physical abilities.  Like Wolverine's claws, his tentacles weren't natural.  They were added hardware.

"Seems I owe you a debt of gratitude," stated Beast carefully.

"Save it," she grunted, grabbing a blasted out of his hands and clicking it to make sure it was charged.  It was.  "Let's go finish off the other two."

Sabertooth gave a low grunt as he lifted himself up, peering out the whole he'd just made by the force of his body.  He still smelt like burnt fur, but he ignored it.  He was healing.  But he was going to regret making this deal with Omega Red for the rest of his life, likely.  Gauntlet he didn't give a damn about.  Let the Circle watch, all he wanted was Wolverine.

Which obliged him as a dark-haired man came barreling through the hole and slammed into Sabertooth's gut, knocking him back into a support post of the barn.

"Working with Omega Red?  That's low... even for you," grunted Wolverine.

"Least I'll be coming out of this alive," grunted Sabertooth, leaping at Wolverine with a characteristic roar, slashing with his claws.  Wolverine ducked underneath and rolled, turning around, lashing out with a adamantium blade.  Sabertooth blocked the arm, barely avoiding losing it to the blades, and grabbed on.  He swung Wolverine around and flung him up into the rafters of the barn.  Then he leapt up after him.

"You can't win!" roared Sabertooth.  "It's over!"

"Yeah, for you maybe," replied Wolverine, lashing out with his claws... right at the supports.  Then he gracefully leapt up and slammed his fist into the ceiling to hold himself up, even as the supports underneath Sabertooth gave and collapsed, taking the great mutant down with them.  His support weakening, Wolverine leapt down as quickly and safely as he could, rolling out of the open barn window and out onto the ground.  It wasn't a smooth landing by any means, but he was out.  And thankfully too, because the barn had just collapsed on top of Sabertooth, crushing him.  If he wasn't dead, he was certainly going to have on hell of a headache when he woke up.

"Catch you later," he said with a mock-salute.  Then he rushed off to help Storm and their last opponent.  Which was, unfortunately, the toughest.

Omega Red.

Against the living embodiment of nature's wrath, the Soviet Union's answer to Weapon X wasn't having much luck.  Mostly because she was up in the sky, and he was a land-bound opponent.  Still, that didn't stop him from grabbing up large rocks with his tentacles and hurling them up at her, while still managing to dodge her lightning bolts.  However, in focusing on her, he'd lost sight of his true objective... that is until it barreled across his vision and sliced clear through both of his tentacles, sending shockwaves throughout his system.  They did allow him to feel pain, after all.

Grimacing, he lashed out what remained of his left tentacle, smashing the ground as his quarry leapt gracefully out of the way.

"You cannot win this time, Weapon X," he taunted.  "This time I will crush you and your worthless allies."

"Not damn likely!" shouted Wolverine, as Beast snuck up behind Omega Red and grabbed his arms, pinning them at his sides.  Wolverine rushed in, slashing his claws at the blonde's armor, but to his astonishment he barely left a mark.  Grinning, Omega Red grabbed Beast and flung him off of him, slamming him straight into Wolverine and letting them both to the ground.

"You are not the only one to benefit from science in a battle," grinned Omega Red, flexing his hand.  "My entire body is covered in carbondanium.  Like adamantium it is virtually impenetrable.  Do you see now, Weapon X?  I am invincible!"

"But not unstoppable," muttered Wolverine.  Then, an idea came to him.  "Storm!  Ice Sculpture!" he shouted up at her.

Storm blinked her eyes, at first confused... then she knew exactly what Wolverine meant.  The air whirled around her, swirling down in a controlled cyclone that knocked Omega Red off his feet.  Cold, icy air the likes of which were generally only seen in Siberia in the dead of winter.  And then, far cold.  Freezing.  Omega Red did not feel the cold... but the as the air around him began to freeze, he felt its effects.  He gasped.  No.  Not again!

"NO!" he roared, his scream frozen in his throat as he was encased in solid ice.  A living weapon, frozen in a chunk of ice like a Neanderthal.  Wolverine grimaced, even as Beast helped him to his feet.  Storm dropped down beside them, letting weather functions return to normal.

"Good work," said Wolverine.  "Thanks 'Ro."

"Anytime," she replied with a smile.

"Well this is all fine and dandy," remarked Mystique.  "But I hope you're not suggesting we lug this frozen bastard all the way back to the United States with us."

"Of course not... we'll drop him off somewhere in the Antarctic.  Somewhere nice and deep and cold where he won't ever be back," remarked Wolverine with a grin.  Mystique laughed at that.  It would indeed be a fitting fate.  Pity.  And she wanted to practice her ice-sculpting.

Great piles of wood shifted, and a great form came visible as he shrugged off one particular beam covering his body.  Grunting, Victor Creed sat up, panting like a dog.  His entire body felt like... well... like a damn barn had fallen on top of him.

"When I get my hands on..." he started to curse, but stopped.

Beast, Wolverine, Storm and Mystique all stood over him, in combat stances or with weapons pointed right at his black heart.

"Run," suggested Wolverine with a smirk.

"This ain't over!" shouted Sabertooth, taking the opening and doing just that, running like a scared animal with his tail tucked between his legs.  Better than a jail cell, at least.  But not by much.  He added a couple more hours to his death list, next to Wolverine's name.  The number of hours he'd suffer before Creed finally put him out of his misery.  And he already had quite a few to his name.

But another day.

**Author's Notes:**

And we're introduced to the Hellions, White Queen's mutant hit squad.  Not quite you expected, right?  But come on, most of that group have been mercenaries or reluctant conscripts at one point or another.  And Omega Red would jump at the chance for revenge.  Omega Red's carbondanium armor is from the comics of course.  Its slightly flexible, slightly weaker form of adamantium.  In the comics his tentacles were the same, but that's obviously changed in Evo since Wolvie and X23 both cut them.  Omega Red's fate is also, of course, what happened to him in TAS.  Poor bastard.  Always being given the cold shoulder by 'Ro.

Todd fan: I figured you'd like that, 'Todd' fan!  The only way I could possibly get you more involved would be using lovable Forge.  Hmmm… perhaps I'll rig some slow terrible and overly elaborate death for him.  That aught to get your attention.

Star-of-Chaos: Of course its good.  Even his old uniform was fine, as long as he ditched the helmet (as we saw in Ascension).  But the goggles look works for him too.  And yeah, possibly, but could they really trust Arcade not to get carried away with his games?  I doubt it.

ViciousAssassin: My oh my, that's a mouthful.  Okay, where to start.  It doesn't really matter, a phone call can be faked any number of ways, but no it wasn't Mystique or Magneto (obviously).  Obviously I was implying could be.  Unless she does something after this chapter to betray everybody.  Never know with Mystique.  Wyngarde passed files along to Arcade, a few chapters back, yes it was foreshadowing.  Two weeks notice is a common business term for you're leaving, but you need time to find a new job and they need time to find a replacement.  Arcade was joking.  And yeah, I'm definitely inserting more and more Todd/Wanda into my stories.  I just can't help it, they both need someone.

Comet-hime: And plenty more violence on its way, believe you me.  Less plot, more smashing.  Well they are called the "BROTHER" hood for a reason, ya know Comet.  As for why, the Circle is eliminating all large mutant groups in Bayville to keep safe, not just the X-Men.  Plus, they felt like betraying Magneto 'cause they're mean.

Sandoz: Actually he's made a lot of progress, considering where he started.  Now they're mostly going through the motions of a love-hate relationship, when they're really good friends.  And I thought you'd like Lance's moral stand and leadership.  He's definitely better at the job than Pietro ever has been.

Rogue14: Well clearly not any longer, since they took out Arcade.  But yes they're not popular with the evil Circle either.  Gee, I wonder why.

Oceanbang: Ah, well if you enjoy seeing more Evo characters used you'll love the next chapter, as well as those upcoming.  Everyone gets at least a cameo appearance.  That fights not for a little while, but its coming, fret ye not.

Lyranfan: Yes I do feel my plot is starting to slack off as I rush to end Graduation and move on, but I'll try and fix that for the last few chapters.  Still, I am glad you enjoy the action that I have inserted into that and the next few chapters.  And yeah, I try to give Pyro a bit more personality than "insane" and "likes fire" and "Australian."

Reddfire: Well I'm glad to hear your opinion about my story has changed (though a lot of people were concerned when Emma showed up) and I hope I continue to entertain you.  Although you may know about the Phoenix (as do I), don't necessarily think you know what'll happen.  I enjoy nothing more than putting a twist on comic storylines.  If you want proof, check out 'Infection.'

SperryDee: Well thank you, I'm glad I could find time for the little geek, and glad his following wasn't disappointed by his portrayal as a still-can't-quite-grasp-reality-game-geek.

Nessie6: Okay wow, I can tell you really hate the Brotherhood.  And Magneto.  Poor Arcade.  'fraid I have to disappoint you, but my story is leading towards a Wanda/Todd in the near future.  I'd bring in Vision but I wanna keep it strictly Evo characters.  So sorry.

UniversalAnimeGirl: That, plus they didn't want to keep their bargain with Magneto from the beginning of the story, and what better way than to eliminate their business partner?  Starting with his employees, of course.  Rogue's experience from 'Annihilation,' plus her own genuine regret for what she did to statue-Mystique, is why she saved her now.  Rogue can breath in space?  Or Ms. Marvel can, rather?  I didn't know that at all… though now doubtlessly I'll consider it for future development.  See, this is why I love reviews!  Ah, the mysteries of clothing in a world of super beings.  All so confusing.  Catch you on the flip side, hope you'll enjoy where this ultimately leads.  Bring tissues.

X00001: Well I'm bringing them out as fast as I can, given my current living restraints.  Don't fret, that generally means a new chapter every three/four days or so.  A week at most.


	10. X

_Professor!  Professor, trouble!  Professor, can you hear me?!_

Professor X grimaced in pain, placing a finger to his temple.  _Quieter, please.  Order your thoughts.  Now, what is the matter Evan?_

_Under attack!  The Morlocks are being slaughtered, there're all these huge sentinels!  We need backup from the X-Men!  Please hurry!_

_Help is on its way_, Professor X projected towards his former student.  Then, breaking off the link, he initiated another with the students of the Institute.  His new recruits.  Not so new, however.  They were ready and trained and needed.  They were X-Men now.

_Everyone.  Please gather in my office._

Spyke grunted and dodged low, narrowly avoiding an energy blast that lanced over his shoulder.  Quickly he turned and rolled, launching some flaming spikes at the automaton.  As before, some penetrated, some didn't, but all they did was manage to slow it down.

"Everyone!  Back to the Alley!" shouted Callisto, waving her iron staff.  "Retreat!  Don't try and fight them!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the tunnels of the Morlocks as its owners ran for their lives from the sentinel-soldiers.

They'd seen them before, what seemed like years ago now.  Before Apocalypse, when a madman had tried to kill them using a device that nullified their powers and made them ordinary humans.  Sentinel-soldiers.  Mark II sentinels.  Humanoid they were, and only six or seven feet tall, armed with energy weapons and programmed to kill any with an X-gene.

In other words, trouble.

A pitiful scream split the air, and Spyke rushed ahead, recognizing the tone instantly.  He wasn't terribly surprised to find Torpid with one of her legs crushed beneath a fallen piece of gravel.  A sentinel-soldier loomed over her, preparing to finish her off.

Spyke did not hesitate.

He launched a spike out of his hand and formed a pole, running forward and using the pole to push off, slamming both feet full force into the sentinel-soldiers chest and letting it fall flat onto its back into the sewer water.

"Pity you're waterproof," grunted Spyke as he reached down and shoved the rock off of Torpid's ankle, grabbing up the teenaged Morlock and carrying her with the others as they ran for their lives.  The Morlocks managed to get to the Alley without serious casualties but the sentinel-soldiers were already pouring towards them in large numbers and it was abundantly clear that, unlike last time, they weren't here to take prisoners.  Spyke ducked behind an overturned table for cover, helping moving Torpid out of the way, and then began to search.  Even in the midst of all this, he had to know she was safe first.

Originally designed as a bomb-shelter, the Alley was a perfectly sealed structure of thick iron and reinforced concrete, and even if sealed off the Morlocks could've survived down there for a good year or so before starving.  However, the door had been long gone by the time Callisto had first arrived and began the mutant tribe.  Unfortunately, there was only one way in or out.  Spyke had, while given them temporary safety, led them into a death-trap.  For all his friends and everyone he cared about.

Finally, Spyke located Callisto, hanging down behind one of the offshoots of the Alley with Cybelle.  The girl had been shot clear through the arm and was bleeding profusely.  Callisto had removed the sash from her waist to bind the wound roughly.  After the attack, they'd need to raid some stores for medical supplies.  But that'd come later.

"How is it?" she asked, tying the makeshift bandage tightly, Cybelle groaned softly, but otherwise made no protest.  She was accustomed to pain.

"Bad.  I think we might've lost two, maybe three more."

"Damn," cursed Callisto.  "How long until they get here?"

"They move fast.  They could be here in maybe ten minutes.  Probably less," he added morosely.

"Then we make our stand here," stated Callisto, banging her iron staff down on the ground hard.  "Prepare yourselves for close-combat!" shouted Callisto.  "Wait until they're in the center."

Spyke and Callisto made their way to the edge of the off-shoot.  Several of them existed in the Alley, leading off in various directions before stopping after a few feet.  With a few empty boxes and crates, the Morlocks had organized them into semi-private rooms.  Most bedded down in the center, which was now being cleared in preparation for the machines, but some were permitted to sleep in the off-shoot rooms.  Spyke shared one with Callisto and, on some cold nights, Torpid.  Though that was happening less frequently of late.

The machines entered, the sentinel-soldiers storming in, organizing themselves in a pentagon pattern, back-to-back, preparing to blast down the few defenses the Morlocks had and crush them.  They were deliberately waiting until all were in the Alley before they began.  Callisto's hands tightened around her iron staff and Spyke shot long bone spikes from between his knuckles, like Wolverine.  They tensed, preparing to attack...

... when suddenly a cry came from above, and the sentinel-soldiers turned to face a new threat that had risen at the entrance to the Alley.

The X-Men.

A form rocketed past the other X-Men and slammed into the first sentinel, shattering it and sending metal shards flying in every direction as Cannonball entered the fray.  The years had changed the lanky and somewhat awkward boy from Kentucky into a muscular young man with no hesitation.  His uniform continued the black and gold look of the older X-Men, his belt bore the 'X' symbol that was now recognized nearly worldwide, and of a design similar to that worn by Kurt, with gold running along his sides instead of crimson.

Wolfsbane was right behind Cannonball, leaping up and tearing at another sentinel with her sharp claws.  Her uniform was the same as it always was, but she'd ripped off the arms and legs (enough to keep modest of course) to allow her now furry appendages to have more space to breath.  She wore no boots, nor gloves.  Her eyes glowed amber as she tore into the ranks of the sentinels in her lycranthropic form.  Behind Wolfsbane came Sunspot and small army of Multiples.  Their costumes also features the upgrade to black and sleeveless, resembling slightly less adorned versions of those worn by Cyclops.  But they too had grown up in the past few years, and it showed.

The sentinels quickly tried to return fire on their new opponents, but a explosive ball of energy and a fireball burnt down two more as Magma and Boom-Boom enter the fray, dressed in their Siryn costumes.  However, Magma's now was featured more prominently with gold and crimson flames along the black material, while Tabby had a pair of blast goggles covering her eyes (the only part of her body found to be vulnerable to her own time-bombs).

Jubilee moved in next, blasting away sentinel-soldiers with powerful plasma bursts projected from her hands.  Her uniform was the same black as Jean's, but over which she'd thrown a distinct yellow trenchcoat that came to her ankles and across her waist she wore the customary belt with the 'X' symbol.  Her hair had been cropped spiky short and on her forehead she wore a pair of bright pink sunglasses.

And finally trailing behind them came Berzerker.  Not that he was reluctant to fight, of course (perish the thought) but he was reluctant to deal with the Morlocks again.  Even after their last encounter three years ago they hadn't been all too friendly to him.  To them, he would always be a deserter.  Still, didn't stop him from launching a lightning bolt at a nearby sentinel to blast its head clear off.  Berzerker's uniform had gotten an upgrade too.  Black instead of dark blue, with a number of jagged lightning bolts striking up along his arms, legs, and vertically across his chest.

Invigorated by their saviors, the Morlocks rose up, and the sentinel-soldiers were quickly reduced to only so many piles of broken pieces and sputtering electronics.  Callisto personally crushed the last one's head beneath her boot.

Both sides regarded one another then, Morlock and X-Man alike.  Spyke was the first to speak.

"Nice suits, who's your tailor?" he asked.

Professor X's posture relaxed, the furrows in his brow vanishing as he smiled.  X23, standing nearby, raised her head, tilting it questioningly.  Lockheed was currently perched on a nearby bookshelf, on the bust of former President Lincoln.

"They have been successful," stated Professor X.  "The sentinel-soldiers have been destroyed."

"I should've been there as well," she stated darkly, rubbing her knuckles in a nervous fashion she'd inherited from her sire.  She wasn't angry at the Professor, exactly.  More frustrated.  Her instincts told her danger was coming... and she needed to face it, not hide and wait for it to come finish her off.

"A moment, Sarah... they've discovered something," he replied, closing his eyes again.  His consciousness merged with Cannonball, the nominal leader of the new group of X-Men and the most experienced of them all.

_Cannonball reached down, brushing off some sewage and lifting up a broken metal fragment from one of the destroyed sentinel-soldiers.  On the inside of the plate, the markings were damaged but still clearly distinct.  It was the Legacy Logo.  A circle with an arrow, designed to represent eternity._

_So the Circle had been responsible for the attack, trying to finish off the Morlocks.  But why?  They were barely an annoyance to Spears and his start-up company of Pow-R8.  Why seek them out so deliberately?  And for that matter, why leave such an obvious mark of their handiwork?_

_"Professor?" asked Cannonball, speaking to empty air.  He wasn't quite used to telepathy yet.  "Can you see this?"_

_I can_, reply Professor X, gently disconnecting the deep mental link he'd shared with the young man.  _Care for the wounded, X23 will keep me safe here until you return_.  "Sarah," he said, now speaking aloud as he turned to face her, re-opening his eyes.  "I want you to..."

She was gone.

X23 revved up her bike, slamming her helmet on and grabbing the handles, tearing clear out of the mansion before the garage door and gates barely had time to open for her.  She took off, lifting the protective visor to sniff the air.  Yeah, this was, definitely.

Professor X might be angry with her, for abandoning him.  Cyclops would definitely be, for her disobeying orders.  Wolverine... she didn't know.  He was going off on his own half the time anyway, but he did always have the philosophy of 'do what I say, not what I do.'  Not that she cared much at the moment.  She recognized this scent.  She smelled it every night, clear as if she was right there, in her dreams.  No amount of perfume smelling like sakura blossoms could mask the scent of death and poison, anymore than a lifetime of scrubbing could.  Even now, had she bothered to look for it, X23's own body reeked of it.  It was a characteristic of those who'd been born of Hydra's dark experiments.

It wasn't X24, no.  He was long dead, his body had been found (or at least, his adamantium claws and teeth had been, the rest of him had been obliterated) and as far as X23 knew, the entire facility had been reduced to rubble.  How had one survived?  Were the more facilities, more clones, more demonic living weapons with adamantium for bones and a desire to kill?  She prayed not.

She'd have some answers soon.  The source was leading her east, towards the bay.  Towards the Bayville Aquarium, no less.  She'd visited it on a number of occasions with the other students.  Personally she'd always been most fascinated with the shark exhibits.

No time for sight-seeing, she reminded herself.

Time for business.

**Author's Notes:**

And so the New Recruits have become full X-Men and gotten their own custom uniforms.  Not perhaps so custom, given the new scheme of the uniforms we saw in Ascension, but they're definitely an improvement.  Honestly, who wears neon-yellow gloves and boots?  Ugly.  And we see more of the Morlocks as well, fighting for survival as always.  They've grown up by about two years now, so more or less most of them are the same, except Torpid.  She's about what Jamie was at the end of Evo, which I can only presume was fourteen or fifteen.  And now the stage is set for X23 to put her past completely to rest with her dark sibling.  I suspect that'll be the best fight yet, since it only involves two characters.  Coming next time, X23 vs. X25.  And after that, back to the plot.

Star-of-Chaos: Yeah you'd think, but whatcha gonna do?  Besides, Omega Red's never been exactly what most would call stable... maybe they designed the weakness to keep him under control.  I enjoyed sending Sabertooth off like that too, although part of me was tempted to have storm send a few lightning bolts down his backside first to scare him.

Todd fan: I don't fret Forge.  I still have plans for you.  Wizard of Oz, WTH?!  Oh, oh right, the barn... heh.  Poor bastard.  You're right, probably bad idea to say anything he might hear.  He might put your name on that infamous list of his.

X00001: You got it, more chapters coming up as quick as I can with all the action you can handle.

DoubleL27: I'm glad I managed to create enough confusion with Mystique's appearance as Jean.  I do so love a befuddled audience.  Glad you enjoyed the manipulation of Arcade into becoming his comic counterpart (a death trap assassin) and how Lance showed that even though he's Brotherhood he can still be a good guy.  And yeah, he's a much better leader than Pietro.  If you think those fights were good, just wait 'til you see what's comin' up next!

Oceanbang: Oh I shall... I shall.  Battles, plot twists, character development galore!  For you are reading the works of Rurouni Tyriel! lightning in the background

Comet-hime: We can and will.  Pity those two aren't as close in Evo as they are in our fanfics.  I'm glad you enjoy my action scenes, I too take pride in those since I can picture them so well in my head.  Poor Sabes, he's gonna feel sore in the morning.  And yeah, just don't let anyone know you're my beta reader, or they might get jealous.

CrypticIdentity: Yup.  Also where I got inspiration to give X25 red hair, that's her momma.  I am writing, I'm working like a damn dog here, with all these battle scenes and wrapping up of plots and such.  Patience.

Nessie6: Well clearly not Red Witch.  And yeah, Kurt/Amanda is a better couple, if for no other reason than Bluebelle.  Surprisingly, your request was envisioned by my psychic powers when I started this story, and I will be involving Crystal as a regular human.  She and Pietro will have a mutant kid named Luna, whom you will see later on.  Her powers?  Let's just say she calls herself the Fastest Woman Alive.

ViciousAssassin: Omega Red did say that, which is why Sabertooth working with him is a new low.  I didn't explain this well obviously.  Victor sold out his comrades to Omega Red.  That's how low.  Mystique might actually show some promise, since I do like her and her children and I'm a sucker for happy endings, but you'll see what I have planned for her.  And yeah that barn collapsed on Sabertooth but it was only about ten minutes.  He is a tough bastard, you know.  Not that hard of a fight?  Well, it was a long chapter and I felt like tying it up quickly, sorry if it seemed rushed.  Didn't total the XM-Velocity with the missile, just damaged its side.  It was designed to kill people, after all, not destroy state-of-the-art aircraft.  Sorry, again, should've gone into detail but didn't.  I have a basic outline set up, little details tend to pop up without warning all over the place, but I know exactly who lives, who dies, when and where etc.  So enjoy.

Sandoz: I'm not a big fan of bringing in just anyone from the comics just to jazz up the story.  Lots of other authors did that and their stories become great big messes of names.  With a few exceptions, I prefer to stick to the Evo cast.  And yeah, definitely classic when Sabertooth was surrounded and told to run.

Princess Myra: I always take a certain pride in my battle scenes, I'm just glad my audience enjoys them as much as I do.  And no, 'fraid not for the mindless slaves and punks that used to serve Emma in the comics.  Just our lovable enemies of Logan.  And yeah, like you said, people we know and love (or hate) makes it better.  Glad I could clarify with Mystique.


	11. XI

X23's bike came to a sudden, almost jarring halt as she finally reached her destination.  Under her breath, she cursed up a storm.  Things could not have possibly been worse for her.

She'd half-expected her opponent to lure her to an abandoned or isolated place.  Somewhere they could fight or talk without being observed by the rest of the population.  It had been ingrained into every servant of Hydra, her more than most, that stealthy and secrecy were of the utmost importance.

But now she stood before the great Bayville Aquarium, and it was full of people.  Crowded, almost.  Despite the threat of rain from the overhead storm clouds.  It was a busy work day, and the entire place was filled with adults, families and kids all swarming around wanting to see the strange and exotic sea life that existed throughout the world.  X23's more military mind told her not to go in.  Too many civilians around, they could get in her way or spot her when she found her foe and attacked.  And the part of her mind filled with the training of the X-Men also told her this was dangerous.  If a fight broke out, someone could get hurt.

But the part of X23 that was Sarah Howlett couldn't let her back down and go away.  She had to confront her enemy.

Her objective made clear, X23 analyzed her options.  Simply walking up and in wasn't an option, since the security force was present, watching those who went in at the ticket booth.  Simply going up to the counter to buy a daily pass wasn't an option either, she was in full uniform and would've attracted attention immediately.  Her eyes roamed over the building, searching for an answer.  An opening, a weakness in their grid, an air vent she could've slipped in, anything.

The answer finally presented itself to her in the form of a young mother and her teenaged son, heavily covered up by a rain coat.  A mother and son she recognized well, from their infrequent visits to the Institute.  The Leeches.  Not for the first time, X23 idly wondered what kind of family name was Leech.  Kitty suggested maybe that Dorian's father had been a lawyer, and after a few more jokes at the expense of law attorneys in general, X23 had finally understood the joke.

Pushing aside pleasant matters, she parked her bike in the parking lot and made her way over towards the family of two, being careful to avoid conspicuous glances from some of the others in the parking lot.

"Mrs. Leech," she said politely, getting the Leech matron's attention.  Her head snapped up.  She hadn't changed much in the past few years, but all the stress that came from raising a mutant child had evidently been hard on her.  Still fairly young, there were locks of silver in her red hair now, and a few wrinkles around her eyes.  Still, upon recognizing Sarah, she relaxed instantly and smiled.  Beneath his hood, Leech offered a similar smile.

"Sarah, isn't it?" asked Dorian, his voice muffled by the thick coat covering his features.

"I need your help," stated X23, getting to the point quickly.  "I need to get into the Aquarium... can I borrow one of Dorian's coats?  I promise I'll return it by tomorrow."

Had it been anyone else that had asked, Mrs. Leech might've refused.  But the Xavier Institute and those who lived there had been nothing but kind and helpful to her and her son, from the time he'd gotten sick with the Legacy virus, to the times his powers surged out of control and he accidentally caused a black-out.  She'd refused to let her son board at the Institute, but someday... someday soon perhaps... she was going to see she had little choice but to accept her son's condition and have him admitted to the Xavier manor.  But until that time, they could at least stay on the best of terms.

Dorian slid back into the open van that was their transportation, hiding himself from prying eyes as he slipped off the coat and handed it to X23, who slipped it on to cover her uniform.  Beneath the coat, in the shadows of the van, Dorian looked as normal as any other kid his age (fourteen) save the unnatural pallor of his skin and the scaly texture to it.  Like the Morlocks, Dorian could not live on the surface without attracting attention to his freakish appearance and thus could not live a normal life.  Even the old 'he's just sick' excuse his mother had used throughout so much of his early life was useless now.  Thus, he was home schooled and isolated.

"Please, Mrs. Leech, take your son and head home.  I'm afraid something bad might happen here," she stated, indicating the aquarium.  Mrs. Leech, well accustomed to the X-Men and their dealings with trouble, took her advice to heart and slid into the driver's side of the vehicle.  Dorian climbed into the passenger's side, giving Sarah a wave and a heartfelt smile.  He had so few friends he loved any chance to interact with others, especially those at the Institute.

He really was such a sweet kid.

Pulling the raincoat closed to conceal her uniform, X23 grabbed some money and paid the man at the window, grabbing a ticket for the daily tour and doing her best not to grit her teeth when he asked if she wanted a season pass.  Now was definitely not the time to lose her temper.

"Hey sis," came a low, sibilant hiss.  The tone and volume, so different from the countless screaming kids and parents throughout the aquarium, instantly caught X23's attention, and she could hear it as if her opponent stood right next to her.  X23 instantly paused, right next to a display case of some tropical fish.  She stretched out with her senses, but could not find her.  The voice (coupled with the masking scent of blossoms earlier) identified her opponent as female, but that didn't narrow down opponents much in this vast crowd.

"Hey yourself," she replied carefully, her voice equally low.  If she could hear her foe, maybe she could hear X23.  "Nice day for a fight, isn't it?"

"Not really," came the hissing voice.  It shifted position, and X23 cursed silently.  She was moving, using the crowd to stay hidden.  "But it's an excellent day for an execution."

"Hydra wants me dead, doesn't it?" replied X23, turning around and placing her back to a nearby support beam in the center of the hallway.  Less chance of being snuck up on.

"Hydra has nothing to do with this.  The Circle might've encouraged me to come here, but the only person who really wants you dead is me, dear sister," that voice took on a new tone now.  Darker, more menacing.  X23 suppressed a shiver, idly rubbing her knuckles.  Not here.  Not now... but soon.

"Why?"

"You took my life!" that voice hissed angrily.  It raised in volume, but it was still too difficult for X23 to locate the source, so she stayed exactly where she was.  She stretched her senses as far as they would in this environment filled with distractions.  "Do not deny it.  You left me for dead."

"Who are you?" X23 asked hesitantly.  She suspected, but she had to know for sure.  Win or lose, she needed to know the identity of her opponent.  If she won, she could finally put her nightmares to rest.  If she lost, she could put her spirit to rest.  Maybe meet Kurt's God and have a nice long chat with him.  She certainly had a lot of questions she wanted to ask. 

"X25."

"So you survived," replied X23, glancing about.  She had a rough idea of what to look for now.  She'd studied Hydra's files when she'd learned about X24, and found out about the other clones.  X25 was a clone of Yuriko, an old... well... "friend" of Logan's.  Close friend, or so he'd said.  He never elaborated, but it was clear he'd cared for her.  He'd shown Sarah a picture once, during her inquiries.  A dark-haired Japanese lady.  Now as an imperfect clone, like Sarah, she wouldn't look 100% like the DNA donor, but there would be some similarities.  Dark-hair, asian features.  Plus, if she was here to kill X23, she'd likely be armed and armored in some fashion.  Not wearing a T-shirt that said 'I'm only wearing Black until they invent something darker.'

"Yes I survived.  I was rescued, I was given new life by the Circle," came X25's voice.  It sounded dangerously close to X23, and she tensed, her eyes still glancing around, searching for those features, her nose alert for the scent of sakura blossoms.  "He gave me new life.  At the cost of pain every day I wake up, a pain that came from the growth serum."

"To make you my age," said X23 with a nod.  She suspected something like that was the case.  X24 had been, physically, almost three years her senior when they'd fought, yet he'd been almost half her age mentally.  X25 had evidently been given the same treatment.

"You did this to me," hissed X25.  "You destroyed me.  And now I'll destroy you."

X23 knew that tone of voice.  No compromise, no mercy, no apologies.  X25 meant for a fight to the death, and nothing X23 could say would convince her otherwise.  "I don't suppose a simple 'I'm sorry' will suffice?" asked X23 lightly, hoping to goad X25 into attacking.

It worked.

A Japanese girl with bright, unnaturally red hair trimmed short suddenly launched herself from the crowd with a wild yell, slamming fully into X23 and knocking her back against the support pillar with only slightly less support than a battering ram.  All the air knocked out of her lungs, X23 couldn't react as X25 grabbed her by the shoulders and flung her to one side, slamming right into a display case and sending water and broken glass splashing all over the floor.  Screams broke out from among the patrons, and the more intelligent ones decided it was in their best interests to run.  The stupider ones decided to linger to see what was going on.

"I'm going to enjoy this," said X25, idly cricking her neck to one side, then the other, idly clicking her perfectly manicured nails together.  She was wearing a dark green coat that buckled tightly across her slender frame and some skintight green pants, complemented by some boots, made of some thick material suited for combat.  X23 growled, slipping back to her feet.  No chance in avoiding a conflict now.  Growling, she grabbed her now soaked coat and flung it aside, crossing both arms across her chest and flinging them out, unsheathing her four adamantium claws in the process.  At the sight of such, a good number more of the patrons fled, recognizing a mutant fight when they saw one.

X25 didn't seem concerned though.  With almost agonizingly slow patience she lifted up her hand, examining her fingers.  "Oh dear," she whispered, her voice soft, her eyes always on her pseudo-sibling.  "I chipped a nail..." she said, and that was when she revealed her own weapons.  From her fingertips slid adamantium nails, easily as long and deadly as X23's own.  One tipped each finger, on both hands, totaling ten to Sarah's four.  Hers were thicker too, X25's were more slender, and as she moved her fingers they made a wicked sound as they slid through the air.  Grinning, the red-head took an offensive stance, claws extended.  Her dark-haired counterpart took a similar one.  Neither could say who moved first.  To the bystanders, they had both been standing, and then in the blink of an eye...

They were engaged in combat.

X23 launched herself at her red-headed sibling, aiming for her torso.  Like X24, their bones were never covered with adamantium, since when they grew and developed their bones would have to grow to accommodate them.  Thus, she was betting X25 only had those adamantium claws.  If X23 could get in a good blow, her darker sibling would go down, and then she'd no longer be a threat.

X25 saw her coming, of course.  She'd anticipated the move, prepared for it, grabbing X23's arm and yanking her forward, twirling herself around like an acrobat as X23 lunged off-balance and slammed her elbow into her back, sending X23 reeling.  X23 rolled with the blow, coming up in a crouch and lashing out with her claws at X25, who leapt up and backwards, nimbly dodging out of the way.  X23's claws slashed clear through another exhibit, once more drenching the dark-haired girl in slimy cold water and glass, and this time nearly getting smacked full in the face by a rare fish from the Hawaiian Islands.  Growling, she turned to face X25.  She was running... no... she was leading X23 somewhere.

X23 growled and shook herself off like a dog, giving chase.  Her uniform was water-resistant but not water-proof, and she was going to need a hot shower after all this was over, but for now she had only one objective.  X25.

X23 followed her into the petting tank room, watching as X25 flipped up and over gracefully, landing in a crouch on one of the rocks in the tanks, her boots just barely above the water.  With a grin, she beckoned X23 on with a single sharp claw.  Taunting her.  X23 growled, but remained calm.  Grunting, she leapt up onto another such rock before X25.  She would come alright, but on her own terms.

"You're slow," whispered X25, brushing her sharp nails against the surface of the water, teasingly brushing against the back of a passing ray.

Battle again resumed in an instant, as X23 and X25 leapt for one another simultaneously.  X23 barreled right into her pseudo sibling, slamming her hard onto the ground beside the tank.  X25 kicked her off and she landed hard in a crouch, facing away from her sibling.  Without even looking X23 lashed out with her foot, sliding out her claw at the last second to tear clean across X25's jacket.  Using her momentum from the kick she spun around, retracting the claw, still crouched on the ground.

X25 barely gave a grimace, watching the skin beneath her buckles heal over and smooth out almost instantly.  She was more irritated that X23 had drawn first blood than anything else.  X23 decided to add insult to injury, and said.

"Not as slow as you are."

X25's face turned livid with rage, and with a howl she hurled herself at X23, who met her attack, and for a moment the air was a flurry of slashing adamantium claws.  Strike, block, retreat, dodge, duck, strike, kick, elbow and a number of other moves both combatants used, pulling on their years of knowledge and training to try and defeat the other.  Like it or not, however, they were at a dead stand-off, completely equal.

Suddenly X25 stumbled, and X23 gave her a vicious kick across the face that sent her careening across the ground to slam against the far wall.  She looked pained but... oddly enough... not from X23's kick.  Curious, X23 peered at her more closely.

X25 growled, clutching her stomach as her skin seemed to... to almost ripple.  Like something crawled under the surface of it, and it even made X23, who'd seen and done far worse things in her time as a Hydra assassin, feel queasy in her stomach.

"No... no... not now!" hissed X25.  "I'm so close...!"

And then X23 abruptly realized what was wrong.  "It's the growth serum, isn't it?" she asked, sheathing her claws and folding her arms across her chest.  "It keeps you alive, but you need it just to stay as you are."

"I don't need to stay alive much longer," said X25, her voice hissed through clenched teeth as she drew herself back up to her full height.  The pain had passed.  "Just long enough to know I sent you to Hell before me.  You can tell them I'm coming."

"I don't want to kill you," replied X23, taking a defensive stance.  Her claws remained sheathed.  She was honest in this, she didn't want to kill someone who was already halfway there.

"Tough, 'cause I want to kill you!" roared X25, taking another leap at X23.  X23 grunted and reached into a nearby tank to grab something, tossing it at X25 to ward her off.  Adamantium nails lashed through the air, then caught on their tips two of the tentacles from the octopus X25 had just skewered.  Her sense of humor restored, the red-headed girl took a bite of the tentacle, chewing on it thoughtfully.

"Hmmm... never did care much for sushi," she remarked, flicking her nails to toss off the clinging organic material.  Then she lunged at X23 again, and their fight resumed.  Now totally on the defensive, X23 blocked and parried, allowing herself to be pushed back as the two made their way deeper into the facility, towards the shark tanks.  Thankfully, security had cleared out the other patrons, and had yet to interfere in their fight.  It wouldn't be long now though.  And then there'd be another complication for X23 to worry about.

"Just... DIE!" shouted X25, making an awkward slash, then slamming her elbow into X23's gut, sending her flying back to hit the shark exhibit's glass, just hard enough to crack it.  X23 grunted, keeping her eyes on her opponent.

"You first," grunted X23, stepping to her left and lashing out with her right fist, cracking the glass completely.  A torrent of water rushed out and slammed fully into X25, even as the sharks followed afterwards.  Flopping about helplessly on the ground.  One of them had the very poor fortune to slam right into X25, pinning her against the wall, even as she slammed her head against it.  The very audible crack that X23 heard told her all too well she'd just shattered her skull.  She was down.

X23 made her way through the ankle-deep water, stepping down hard on the shark's overturned body to pin down her pseudo-sibling.  Her green uniform was torn with slashes, her hair was soaked, her eyes dark.  She clung to life only feebly.  And again, her skin rolled as if something moved beneath it.  The serum... it was killing her.

"Go on... finish me," she whispered.

"I can help you," said X23 after a moment's hesitation.

"Help me end this... if I cannot kill you, let me die by your hand," whisper X25, doing her best to grab X23's arms.  X23, numb and sickened by her request, did not deny her, letting her arms be guided, the knuckles pressed to the Japanese girl's throat.  A swift pop of the claws, and it would all be over.  Even for a regenerator, the loss of a head was instantly fatal.

"One more death for X23," murmured her pseudo-sibling, closing her eyes and tilting her head back in a submissive gesture.

X23 glared darkly, pressing her knuckles more firmly against her sister's throat.  She would end it, but not for X25's honor, she deserved none.  To relieve her pain.  Before she passed on to the afterlife, however, whatever it was, X23 had one final message to deliver.

"My name..." she whispered triumphantly.  "... is Sarah Howlett."

A swift pop of her claws, and it was all over.  X25's head rolled off her body and came to a stop at the base of the shark's neck, giving Sarah an odd comparison between the two dead predators.  Sighing, Sarah slid her claws back between her knuckles.  Already she could hear security and police coming to try and apprehend her, but she'd be gone long before they arrived.  She could move as easily as smoke if she wanted to.  Still, she had one last thing she wanted to get first.

Dorian's coat.

**Author's Notes:**

And so ends the life of Hydra's monstrous child, X25.  Her back story of course contains elements from 'Weapon X24' and I recommend that to any who want more reading about her, her siblings, X24, or Sarah.  A picture of the infamous children of Hydra can be found created by the very talented artist Comet-hime, though my story calls for a slightly different coloration of X25.  Dorian's introduction was a last minute idea on my part on how to have Sarah slip into the aquarium, but I wanted to give his character a little growth as well, since he'd be a teenager by now.  Growth serum and adamantium were of course provided by Colonel Wraith, whom we saw a few chapters back, ordered by the Circle.  Just to clear up any plot holes that were there.  Oh, and a T-shirt with that slogan?  Best thing I've ever worn.  Best saying too.

Star-of-chaos: Very true, very true.  Poor Morlocks, they never catch a break, do they?  Poor mistreated, misunderstood Morlocks.

Nessie6: Twelve or thirteen, you sure?  I would've thought fourteen, just short of being a freshmen.  But ah well, whatever, its not like they ever tell us or have birthday parties in the episodes.  And yeah I know Crystal was some super-powered being or something, but I wanted to switch it around for my Evo characters.  Plus, I wanted to make little Luna as fast as daddy Pietro.  As for the old uniforms... the Professor's got a dirty mind.  Just ask Lesli.  She knows.

X0001: Well it's a little something like that.  You like?

Hana the Wreck: Nope, just what my profile says.  A guy with an overactive imagination and too much time on his hands.  And a none-too-healthy obsession with Evo.  Oh no, another Gambit fan.  Ah well don't fret I ain't gonna kill the bastard... not yet... at least.

Oceanbang: One on one always are my best fights.  More details.  Hope you enjoyed.  And yeah, they're full fledged X-Men now.  With their new uniforms and everything!  Hooray!

ViciousAssassin: Based on what we've seen of the Morlock in glimpses from 'X-Treme Measures' and 'Uprising' there are more Morlocks than just those we've seen given names and airtime.  Thus, assume that about six or seven of them were cut down.  Nobody significant.  Big death later.  And not X25's either, that also does not count.  One of the X-Men.  As for timing, yes it was perfect, but what do you expect from a story based on a cartoon show?  You would prefer I have them late, see all the Morlocks slaughtered?  I thought not.  Comet got your message, and she loved 'em as well, so expect piccies.  I'll include a link in my profile when it arrives.  Enjoyed the fight, did we?

Risty: I know exactly what you mean.  He's Wolverine to the Morlocks.  And yeah, I don't care much for his new look either, but I do like the armor.  If he could control it, then it'd be cooler.  Ah well, I want everyone to have their chance to shine in this story.  This being the end for them, after all.

Ray1: Little bit of both, but walking into a trap you know about is better than one you don't.  Hope you enjoyed watching her fight.

Comet-hime: I purposefully left them only half-explained so as not to be overly boring.  I agree, Jubes was the most un-comic like of all the Evo cast.  But then again she never did get much chance to shine.  Glad you're enjoying what's to come, keep the piccies coming.  Oh, and for the beta-readerness?  I know that!  It was a frickin' joke!  Laugh, damn you, laugh!!

Lyranfan: Sentinel-soldier, also known as Sentinel Mark II.  They were designed by Trask and Wraith in 'Nullification.'  The Circle using them is a sign that they've either made contracts or stolen the blueprints from them.

Evan fan: Bobby'll get his time to shine, but he was part of the core team in the Ascension shots, so I had to put him with the core team on the Luna station.  Glad you like the uniforms, I had to draw from the comics and my own imagination to make a lot of those, and let me tell you right now they weren't easy.  As you can see, X23 left to deal with a 'family matter.'

Princess Myra: Most of my big stories have at least mention of the Morlocks and the Brotherhood, I try not to ignore little groups in favor of focusing exclusively on the X-Men.  Even though my stories do focus on them.  Glad you liked the adult New Recruits and their new uniforms now that their full X-Men.  And actually, the intent of the attack?  You got it on the nose.

CrypticIdentity: Not quite, since her comic counterpart wore shorts and a red t-shirt under her coat, and this one wears a skin-tight black uniform like Rogue's.  I try not to make them completely comic or Evo, but draw from both to make them best possible.  Glad you like 'em.  In TAS, Shadowcat and Lockheed never showed up, although they did appear in a very, very, very (you get the point) old animated pilot for an X-Man series that was ultimately never used (later replaced by TAS).  It was called 'Pryde of the X-Men.'  It has both of them, if you wanna see what Kitty used to look like (prepare to shudder at Wolverine's accent though).

Sandoz: Partially diversion, partially to eliminate the Morlocks as a threat (the Circle views all mutant groups that aren't under their control a threat, like the Brotherhood).  All of them were comic inspired, but yeah Jubes got the most influence from TAS, though she got the pink sunglasses a few stories back for Christmas.  Hope you enjoyed the battle of the femme fatales.


	12. XII

It was deathly silent in the cockpit of the Blackbird.  Apart from the steady hum of the ships engines (a quiet purr compared to most air vehicles of similar sizes) and the steady tap of keys, no one made a sound.  They were all mentally preparing themselves for a fight.  Or, more likely, preparing for the worst possible outcome.  Danger Room training was useful and most of them were considered experts at hand-to-hand combat (you had to be, with Logan as your sensei) but they were going up against telepaths.  The mental battlefield was a lot more unpredictable than the physical one.

Still, didn't mean they hadn't taken precautions.  The team in Bayville was protected by psychic attack from a now rested and strong Professor Xavier, arguably the most powerful telepath in the world.  And the team in Russia had members who did not easily succumb to the power of a mindbender.  But this team at the Luna station had no such protection in the form of their own willpower or a fellow telepath (and not for the first time, they were reminded that Jean was not fighting at their side) but they did have something else.  When Mesmero had attacked and taken control of the X-Men before, Professor X and Beast had taken it upon themselves to find a defense against his mental attacks.  They'd come up with a rather ingenious idea.  Utilizing the same technology found in Magneto's red helmets, they'd constructed headbands that safely shielded its user from most manner of telepathic attacks.  Truly strong and powerful telepaths might be able to break through, but only with considerable difficulty.

The Blackbird slid effortlessly out of the atmosphere and into orbit, and Scott shifted them to a matching orbit with the station Luna, allowing everyone a chance to experience firsthand their new weight-less environment.  The station had rotating rings, so once on board they'd have gravity again, but the Blackbird was not so equipped.  Still, at least it had oxygen for them to breath.

"Alright, everyone get set... we don't know what we're up against here, so stay frosty," ordered Cyclops.

"Always do," replied Iceman, though without his usual humor.

The Blackbird slid effortlessly through space and towards the orbiting space station.  It was a top of the line vehicle and it had a top of the line pilot in Cyclops, who had aviation in his blood.  Thus, it parked alongside the orbiting station with little trouble as he used its secondary landing gear (useful for non-flat terrain) to clamp gently on to the side of the white station, like a lamprey sticking to a great white shark.  The doors locked, the tube extended, the air pressurized, and the X-Men prepared to do battle.

The doors slid open, and the X-Men quickly filed in, Cyclops and Rogue taking point, followed by Colossus, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat.  Iceman came in behind them.  They were tense, they were ready for anything.

But the station was empty.  There were no signs of life on board.

"Okay, anyone else but me feel this is a trap?" asked Iceman.

"Iceman," ordered Cyclops.  "Wait in the Blackbird.  I've a feeling we'll need a quick exit if things get ugly."

Iceman grunted, stifling the complaint that nearly came free of his mouth.  He hated this, he hated being left behind an important mission, but he'd been an X-Man long enough to know when Cyclops was being serious, and now was definitely one of those times.  He was worried, realized Bobby.  Worried about Jean.  "Yeah, sure... everything'll be ready.  If you guys need back-up though..."

"... we'll give you a call.  Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, take point.  See if you can't find the people who were supposed to be stationed here," ordered Cyclops.  His teammates nodded, one slipping down into the floor as graceful as a ghost, the other vanishing in a puff of sulfuric smoke and a muffled 'bamf.'

Cyclops walked along, hand resting on his visor, sweeping every corridor, every room they came across.  So far, no one and nothing.  To his tactical mind, it was screaming ambush, but he couldn't find any evidence of anything.  The entire place seemed utterly abandoned.

"I found the scientists," said Shadowcat, slipping up through the floor behind them and crouching down behind Cyclops and Colossus.  "They're all down in this storage bay... sleeping."

"Sleeping?" asked Colossus.

"Totally out of it," she replied, breathless.  "I did everything short of beat this one guy on the head with a tire iron, and he wouldn't wake up."

"Nobody take off your bands," ordered Cyclops, as if such a reminder was necessary.  The group trudged on.  Station Luna was big, but it didn't go on forever... where was everyone?

There answer came in the form of Nightcrawler making his appearance.

"I found someone.  They're up at the control station.  I didn't know what to do so I 'ported back here."

"Lead us there," ordered Cyclops.  The team moved out, and in seconds Nightcrawler had led them effortlessly to the control station, where the center of the space station was able to control all of its functions via computer.  As Nightcrawler had said, there was one guy there, a scientist, but he sat in the dark, staring at the screen as it scrolled before him... he didn't even blink.

Curious, Cyclops moved in closer, the team following behind him to examine the other inert computers, as Cyclops tapped the guy's head with his finger.  He didn't even flinch, his eyes didn't blink.  He was awake... but he wasn't there.

"Nightcrawler, Shadowcat..." Cyclops said at length. "... both of you, get to the storage bay and grab up all the locals, take this guy with you.  Get them back to the X-Jet and..."

Suddenly the entire place lit up, and the X-men tensed, glancing around.  The doors slid shut, sealing off the room, even as their opponents came into view.  They'd been hiding in the shadows, by one of the doors that led off further into the station.  But now they were revealed in all their terrible glory.

Mesmero was of course a well known among the X-Men, recognized instantly by his bald head and dark green tattoos covering his face.  His eyes burned red as he regarded his enemy, those who had defeated his master Apocalypse and consigned him to the river of time.  He was dressed as he always was, in his robes of dark red and royal purple, and in his hands he held a great golden staff.

Standing on the far side of the group was a man recognizable only by Cyclops, that of Mr. Jason Wyngarde.  Mastermind, or so he'd been identified as such by Mystique.  So his entire form was an illusion.  Quite a powerful one too, if it still managed to penetrate their psionic-protective bands.  He'd exchanged his normal business suit for a 19th century Englishman's clothes, all as black as the night.  It didn't fool his former comrade in arms, Colossus, for more than a moment.

And the third member, standing languidly in the doorway to the room, was the most impressive of the other two, and cut from quite a different mold, all light to their darkness.  Her clothes were as white as snow, her skin smooth and perfect.  And due to the nature of her white, skin-tight suit, a great deal more than could generally be considered modest was on display.  Her blonde locks fell to her shoulders, just brushing against the white cloak she'd added as an after-thought.  Unlike the others, her baby-blue eyes were focused on Cyclops alone.

"So nice of you to join us," she said, her tone casual, as if she'd been inviting them over for tea.  Unlike Mesmero and Mastermind, she was completely at ease, despite having five very powerful mutants facing her.

"Emma..." stated Cyclops, both to get her attention and identify her to his teammates.  "What're..." he started to say.  Clearly he was going to ask what she was doing there.  Part of him knew, but he had to be sure.  He'd trusted her, after all.

But all his doubts were cast aside when she threw back her head and laughed.  Not even just a normal laugh, like when someone made a joke.  No, this was a cruel laugh.  It mocked him, mocked everything he stood for and everything he'd done.  She took one look at Cyclops and reduced him to nothing with that laugh.

"Alright, all of you surrender and we'll take you peacefully," ordered Cyclops, even as his teammates took up fighting stances.  With the bands in place, they were telepathically safe from attack.  Thus, their worst danger was from Mesmero's staff.  They'd all heard about the last time he'd used it, in the Tomb of En Sabah Nur.

But to their surprise, none of them attacked.  Mesmero's stance actually relaxed, and their brows furrowed in concentration.  They were about to make a psionic attack.

"Might as well not bother," said Cyclops darkly, venom leaking into his voice at Emma's betrayal.  "These bands protect us from your telepathy.  Now come quietly and nobody has to get hurt."

"Aww come on Scott, can't we hurt 'em just a little?" asked Rogue teasingly, cracking her knuckles.  In addition to a person grudge against Mesmero, Rogue really had a thing against betrayal, and thus she wouldn't have minded giving the white bitch a black eye before they hauled her off to prison.

Their reaction, however, startled all of them.  They were laughing.  It started out like a little chuckle, then became a full blown laugh as the three members of the Circle regarded their opponents.  They didn't look scared at all.  They looked almost triumphant.  And then, something happened, and the X-Men realized why they were so damn confident.

Someone else was laughing with them.

Suddenly Cyclops found the ground beneath his feet slip away, and he slammed hard against the far wall.  The other X-Men found themselves in similar straights.  Before any of them could properly react, the metal bands around their heads completely snapped, broken by an unseen force.  The bands floated through the air and slammed into the wall on either sides of their necks, pinning them all to the wall and leaving them defenseless to mental attack.  Growling, Colossus and Rogue tried to reach up and rip off their restraints (they were only metal, after all) but found their arms refused to act on their commands.  Nor could any of the other X-Men.  Nightcrawler tried to teleport but found he couldn't.  Something was blocking that almost instinctive though-process required to move from one place to another instantly.  Shadowcat couldn't phase either.  The Circle had stopped them.

The laughter from the three present died away, and then only one voice could be heard.  None of the others recognized it... until Cyclops finally placed it.  Tucked away in his memories of three years ago, just another punk mutant at the time.  But now...

The Black King strode into the room, grinning triumphantly.

"Lucas," spat Cyclops darkly.

"Took you long enough to figure it out," replied Lucas in his usual Scottish accent.  He spread his arms wide.  "All these years, I've been working, and none of you or your precious friends had even a chance to uncover me.  Tsk, tsk.  I'm disappointed.  I was half expecting a... worthy... rival."

"Let me down and I'll show you a rival," growled Cyclops.  "Where's Jean?!"

"Ah, always concerned with the girlfriend," taunted Lucas.  "Or should I say, ex-girlfriend?"

Cyclops remained silent, but Lucas could see quite plainly he'd struck a cord with him.  A bad one.

"I see you need to be reminded of the precarious nature of your situation," stated Lucas, stretching out a hand.  Instantly Cyclops felt his visor slip, and instinctively closed his eyes as it slid off his face and floated into Lucas outstretched hand.  "Now feel free, go ahead and blast if you want... although... you do know if you miss, you could easily blow a hole in the station... which would result in a rather messy death for your X-buddies here."

Cyclops frowned darkly.  He did know that, and that's why he'd been hesitant to use it before on the others.  Now he might not have a chance.  For now, he had to wait until the situation changed in his favor.

"Ah, and there's our lovely Queen now," said Lucas, as he and the Circle turned to regard the doorway.

Jean stepped in... but she wasn't their Jean.  She wasn't Jean Grey, the X-Man, the mutant who'd fought so passionately by Cyclops' side and worked so hard to protect people.  This was someone else.  Someone else wearing Jean's face as a mask.  She strode in like Cleopatra, her every motion graceful and fluid, her bright red locks had been bound above her head in a bun, her body clad in skin-tight latex similar to the Emma's, though of pitch black rather than snow white.  An ebon cloak flowed around her shoulders.  She walked around the Circle, ignoring them all and having eyes only for Lucas, as she slid by his side, wrapping one arm around his neck and the other resting against his stomach in a seductive pose.  Lucas wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her possessively towards him.

"Normally I'd ask you all bow for your King and Queen," said Lucas lightly.  "But I think she'll forgive you this time.  Ah, but don't worry, she's in a generous mood, isn't she?" he asked, turning to Jean.

She smiled and nodded, planting a kiss on Lucas's cheek before strolling over towards the technician, who hadn't moved a muscle during the fight or anytime afterwards.  Lucas grinned, reluctantly letting her go, though his hand lingered on a certain rounded part of her anatomy for a bit longer than necessary.  Jean didn't seem to notice.  She flipped a switch, calling up a visual image on the computer screens.

Lucas nodded at Mastermind, who allowed for a similar image to be seen by Cyclops.

It was the XM-Velocity, en route to Russia.  It was the New Recruits, heading into the sewers.  It was the Brotherhood, heading towards an abandoned mall.  And it was the Xavier Mansion, with a single occupant remaining inside.  Charles Francis Xavier.  Alone and unprotected, his only company a single baby dragon from the stars.

"You were right, Cyclops.  Our strategy has been, from the beginning, divide and conquer.  But while we're taking advantage of this mess to mop up some mutant trouble-makers," he said, indicating the first three screens.  "Our ultimate goal lies here.  The one telepath left on Earth stronger than me.  Dear old daddy," he added with a sneer.

"And once he's gone, as well as the rest of you... there'll be no one left to stop us."

"No on indeed," he snorted.  "No one but a snow man from Boston who doesn't know when to follow orders," he murmured to himself, keeping his voice down.

Bobby had never been one to sit still and wait for long.  As anyone at the Institute could tell you, he had an excess of energy that could've easily rivaled that of Kurt or Pietro.  Coupled with this was an almost total disregard for orders.  Hell, his first mission where he'd been accepted as an official X-Man had been when he'd stowed away on board the XM-Velocity.  But Bobby always did what he thought was best in the given circumstances, and when push came to shove, he turned serious and took the situation seriously.  It was a subtle difference in his actions, but it was there, and sometimes it made all the difference.  Which is why he'd snuck out of the jet and followed behind his teammates, then ducked into a nearby air shaft when he'd heard them over-powered.  Now he stood just over their heads, watching them helpless in the hands of the Circle.

So right now, he plotted.

He knew he was no match for the entire Circle.  At least, not without back-up.  As it was, at least he was the wild card involved in this equation.  The X-Men may be defenseless, but the Circle wasn't even aware of his presence yet.  Whatever other properties the headbands had, they made someone effectively invisible in terms of mental projections.  Thus, unless Iceman was stupid enough to allow them to see him with their own two eyes, he was off their radar, and free to wreak havoc.

Problem was, what to do now?

So Iceman plotted, listening to Lucas's big take-over-the-world speech and how they'd delibertly split everyone up to make Professor Xavier vulnerable.  Like the other X-Men present, Iceman had been shocked and deeply hurt to see Jean become their enemy, but he pushed it down and said he could deal with it later.

If there was a later.

_Hang on... where was -he- going?_ wondered Iceman.  During the talking of Lucas, Mesmero was quietly slipping out the back, unnoticed by his colleagues.  He had that sly look on his face like he usually did when he was up to something.  That is, to say, all the time.   It was a long while later, but it seemed Lucas had noticed as well.

"Where's Mesmero gone too?" he asked.  Needlessly, it seemed.  A quick psi-scan provided his own answer.  "That damn fool."

"Shall I deal with him?" asked Emma with a playful grin.

"No... Mastermind," he said, pointing to the dark-haired man standing behind Emma.  "Deal with him.  Feel free to use any methods you prefer just... leave him alive," he stated with a smirk.  "If you kill him, he'll never learn."

Mastermind chuckled knowingly, and slipped out of the room.  As Iceman watched, the departure of the second telepath was apparently putting more strain on Lucas.  His motions were slower, more precise.  He was using most of his telepathic strength to keep the X-Men from breaking their rather feeble bonds.

"So there is a weakness," he murmured to himself.

Then an idea came to him.

In the control center, Lucas paused a moment.  Something was bothering him, and he swore the hair on the back of his neck was upraised.  _By the pricking of my thumb_, he thought, _something wicked this way comes._

"Black King... are you alright?" asked Emma, moving to his side, making him marginally relax.  With himself and both the Queen's at his sides, Lucas did feel particularly invincible, and with good reason.  Still, the nagging feeling persisted.

Suddenly something caught his eye.  Steam, no... mist in the air.  Wait a minute... that was his breath.

"What's going on?" he asked.  He could feel it more clearly now.  The temperature of the room was dropping dramatically.  Emma and Jean were both shivering and (as if they still had any modesty left) drawing their cloaks around their bare shoulders to cover themselves more completely.  Lucas too was shivering.  The room was starting to coat in ice.  What on earth had happened.  Abruptly he switched his psionic focus from the X-Men to the technician, but according to the computers, the temperature was being kept at its normal, earth standards.  So what was going on?

Suddenly he caught a mental thought being leaked.  It was quickly gone, and Lucas growled darkly.  He realized that one of the captives had just realized what was happening, and tried to cover it up.  The brown-haired, petite girl.  Lucas angrily grabbed each side of her face and focused his full psionic power on her to get answers.  She screamed under the brutal assault, and in seconds he'd pierced into her mind... Kitty's... and found out the cause of the problems.

Iceman.

"We have an intruder!" shouted Lucas, turning his attention away from the now unconscious Shadowcat.  _Mastermind, Mesmero, get back up here now!_

_We are betrayed Black King!  Mesmero is stealing the vibranium!  He believes it can be used to re-open the rift in time!_ came Mastermind's urgent telepathic reply.

_Deal with him!_ replied Lucas, his telepathic shout piercing Mastermind's skull as easily as a lance would, dealing him damage.  It was perhaps too much power, but Lucas was growing desperate.  And it was only getting colder in the control center.

Unnoticed by all others, Colossus hand was finally able to move...and it slowly stretched out, inching its way up towards the collar around his neck.

"I am betrayed!" shouted Lucas darkly.  "Very well.  Then we will put an end to things here, and re-group.  Black Queen," he said, again getting Jean's attention.  Then he narrowed his eyes darkly, and sent a single thought her way.  She nodded, grinning wickedly.

Brushing the technician aside, Jean tapped into the controls of the station.  The X-Men watched in horror as the entire structure shuddered.  On the screens, in bright red script, they could clearly see what was going on.

[Orbit De-Stabilized]

[Uncontrolled Re-Entry not Recommended.  Possibility of Luna burn-up 79%.]

The Circle was going to crash the entire station back down onto earth, killing everyone inside.

In terms of power, Mastermind and Mesmero stood on nearly equal grounds.

However, Mesmero was fueled by a zeal and passion that Mastermind with his fears of life did no justice.  Mesmero's psionic blast knocked Mastermind back and onto the ground, as he and his hypnotized technicians grabbed up the last of the vibranium and loaded them into one of the escape shuttles.

"Lucas will destroy you for this!" shouted Mastermind after him.

"The Black King is no match for my true master," hissed Mesmero.  "Once I am finished rescuing him, he will be the one doing the destroying.  Unless he decides to put you all at my disposal!"

Mastermind's eyes narrowed, and he turned to the technician.  Mistakenly seeing the button to re-open the escape shuttle door (to allow them and Mesmero to escape) he instead pushed the wrong button.  The one to launch it.  Thus it was that Mastermind watched with a smirk, as Mesmero's precious vibranium was launched clear of the station and sent hurtling towards earth in an uncontrolled flight.  It could easily land anywhere.  If the Circle could not have it, neither could he!

Mesmero whirled darkly on Mastermind, and for a moment the illusionist grew fearful.

Then Mesmero's full psionic wrath came crashing down upon Mastermind, and he cried out in pain, even as he scrambled his own mental defenses.  They all failed in seconds.

When it was over, Mastermind's illusions had all failed, and he lay shivering on the ground, his mind in pieces.  His illusion was gone, and now all could see his hideous countenance fully.  Mesmero scarcely paid him any heed as he ordered his mind-slaves to follow him and escape in another pod.  He'd find the vibranium at another date.  For now, he had to escape.

Iceman decided now was as good a time as any, and kicked out the grates of the airduct, falling down into the command center with his usual good humor.  He even had a smile on his face as he iced up a bolt and took aim at the White Queen, freezing her legs up solid to the ground and preventing her from moving.  Lucas growled and turned on Iceman, who stood in his way, and telekinetically slammed him against the wall.

However, his concentration broken by betrayal, imminent death (if he didn't escape), an intruder, and more, Lucas was unable to hold his grip over the minds of the X-Men.  And Colossus drove this point home as he transformed into his metallic self and grabbed the metal collar holding his neck to the wall, ripping it clean out.

"Comrade, I believe you forgot this," he stated in his thick Russian accent, taking a swing at Lucas with all of his sixty ton weight behind it.  Lucas barely managed to erect his repelling shield in time, but even so he was sent flying back through the air to slam against the far wall and leave a dent.  Still, he didn't fall... he didn't even land on his feet.  He floated there, and his eyes practically radiated power.

But they also saw.

Saw what was happening, that more of the X-Men were breaking free, that Colossus was assisting to break loose the unconscious Shadowcat and handing her to Nightcrawler to return to the X-Jet.  That Rogue was cracking her knuckles dangerously, having just freed Cyclops as well.  And that even blind, their leader was there, his expression dark as he sought out Lucas with his ears, preparing to blast him away.  His allies were thinning, his enemies becoming thicker and Lucas was caught in it.  So he decided on a new course of action.

Retreat.

Roughly grabbing Jean with a telekinetic hold, the Black King and Queen retreated behind the far door, as Lucas roughly slapped the keypad and sealed it shut, then ripped apart the controls with his telekinesis, leaving the doorway all but sealed shut.  It wouldn't slow down Colossus or Rogue, but it'd buy him some time.  He and Jean took off in a run.

_Wait!  You cannot simply leave me here!_ shouted the White Queen telepathically, and even her mind was laced with fear at being captured by the X-Men.

Lucas's reply was as cold as the space surrounding the station.  _Watch me_.

"Here, you'll need these," said Rogue, slipping Cyclops's visor back over his face.

"Thanks," he replied.  The station was bathed in red light, and it shuddered again.  It was nearing Earth's orbit.  Everyone was looking to Cyclops for some orders.  And as much as he wanted to go after Lucas and Jean... he knew he couldn't.  Not and stay a good leader.  He had to put his feelings aside.

"Get the technicians out of here, clear out this station and get them all to the X-Jet.  As soon as its ready, I'll break us off from the station."  Their orders clear, the X-Men broke off to get the others and escape, but Rogue stopped Cyclops, lingering behind in the command center.

"What about Jean?" asked Rogue.

"We'll... we'll have to hope she gets off on her own," he said, his voice choking.  "Come on, Lucas isn't an idiot, he must have an escape... and he'll take her with him."

"Like he did Emma?" asked Rogue, nodding to the captured White Queen.  Her feet still encased in ice, she was unable to escape.  She stuck out her hands desperately towards her only salvation... those she'd betrayed.

"Help me," she whimpered.

"Why?  You betrayed me," said Cyclops darkly.  "You betrayed all of us, you stole Jean and messed with her mind, nearly killed all my friends, and you expect me to have even a shred of mercy left for you?!"

To this, Emma could make no possible reply.  Fortunately, Cyclops wasn't expecting one.  With a carefully guided, paper-thin blast of optic energy, he blasted her legs free of the ice.  Rogue caught her.

Emma blinked, totally shocked after Cyclops's speech that he'd done such a thing.  "Wha...?"

"I'd like to think this makes me a better person than you are, White Queen," he said.  Then, without warning, he slugged her full across the face, knocking her unconscious and leaving an ugly black bruise on her otherwise flawless white complexion.  "But not by much," he added, feeling more than a little grim satisfaction.

Rogue carried the unconscious Emma in her arms as Cyclops grabbed up the technician and slung him over his shoulder.  They made their way to the Blackbird as the station Luna prepared to rather painfully enter Earth's atmosphere, unguided.  Already the closest tip to earth was as red as fire.

**Author's Notes:**

One of my longest chapters yet, and easily one of the best.  Action, plot, character development.  And betrayal's all around.  Not quite how the original Circle fell apart, but Evo's could've easily done this.  Lucas's true plot was revealed.  The headbands was an idea of mine from way back when I asked myself, why is it only Magneto gets the psi-resistant helmet?  Why can't the good guys do it too?  Didn't do 'em much good, but still.  And Iceman saves the day, using the same trick Storm did in X2.  Cold temperatures interfere with thinking.  Mastermind was knocked around by a telepath and his illusions crumble?  In the comics, Dark Phoenix did that to him after she realized she was being manipulated.  And now the stage is set for our little Phoenix to be reborn.  Next chapter is thirteen.  Brace thyself.  That's the chapter where someone will die.

Risty: Definently went a little over-board in the spiked armor department, didn't they?  An aquarium not a good battle ground?  Trust me, anywhere can make a good battle ground, if used properly.  Ah well, poor Logan, poor Sarah.  Its their lot in life.  Glad you liked the idea to slip in Dorian and show a glimpse of him.

Comet-hime: I'm not a fan of sushi, what can I say?  And of course Sarah tried to help her, she's a good kid underneath the tough-as-adamantium exterior.  Don't worry, chapters are coming out a bit faster now, and we'll get to all your favorite scenes in little to no time.  You're gonna draw the new X-Men (old New Recruits) in uniform?  Hooray!   We all wuv you Comet-hime!

ViciousAssassin: Gotta love X23, definently.  And actually, the scene was written in a manner to -suggest- blood and gore, but never actually confirm or deny it.  Its my way of treading the line of a PG-13 rating, just like later you see sexual innuendo.  X25 was lied to her whole life by Circle, anything wrong with her, blame them.  And actually I was considering using Leech as the deciding factor in the Hydra siblings fight, but decided against it.  Its Sarah's battle, not his.  Jean turning Phoenix does not count as a major character death.  This person in question will die and -stay- dead.  Next chapter, actually.

X00001: Well she was more or less dying anyway, as you saw, so X23 did her a favor by ending her misery.  But I agree, I liked her character, and I wish I could've developed it more like I did with X24.  But ah well, such is life.  Glad you enjoyed the catfight between the siblings.

Todd fan: You must be busy with at least three different projects right about now, its understandable and I don't blame you... much... dangles Todd and Forge over a wood chipper.  Hope you enjoyed the fight with X25 and of course all the new adult New Recruits.

Star-of-Chaos: Yeah, poor things... maybe I should've used dolphins, they can survive out of water for short periods of time since they're air-breathers.  But I wanted sharks to show comparison between human animals and animal animals.  Did I succeed?  Hehe.

Lyranfan: Well that was the point, to give us an inkling of just how much pain X25 is in on a daily basis.  Well, as you can see, that part of you was right, and you should listen to it more often.  Glad you liked the brief scene for the Leech family.

Nessie6: Deal.  I could bring X25 back easily (this is Marvel after all), but I don't think I ever will.  Poor thing needs some rest... rest in peace, that is!  Hehe.  You know you're absolutely right, Kitty did say he was twelve during third season, so at most he would be thirteen at the end of the series.  You're right, my bad.  Ah well, its not like anyone's keeping score with everyone on the show anyway (too much trouble).  And no, of course I won't make her cheat.

Sandoz: It was also a little cover-up of mine, since I can't seem to think of an appropriate new codename to give to Sarah Howlett, and I doubt very highly she would enjoy being called X23 all her life.  So, like Jean, she's just Sarah.  Glad you liked the fight and the brief scene for the Leech family.  I do try and give everyone their time in the story.


	13. XIII

Luna station shook again... violently this time.  Lucas almost stumbled, but Jean caught him.  Grunting a bare minimum of a thanks, the Black King and Queen continued towards the escape shuttle that Lucas had specifically left out of the plan he'd given to the other members of the Circle.  Ah well, with Jean at his side, he could rebuild.  No one was more powerful than the two of them, anyway.

"Wait... I need to stay," said Jean suddenly.  Lucas lifted his head, glancing at her in surprise.  Escape was only a few feet away.

"What?  What on earth are you talking about?" he asked in exasperation.  What on earth had Mastermind done to that beautiful mind and fiery temper he loved so much.  She was such a shell of when he'd last seen her at McFadden castle.  And now she wanted to stay?  Was she out of her mind?

"I have to stay... he's here... the bond..." she murmured incoherently.

Lucas cursed, grabbing her bare arm.  However, to his shock, she looked up at him darkly, and he felt himself get telekinetically slammed against the bulkhead.  Damn it, that hurt!

"I have to stay," she said, her voice echoing strangely.  Then, to Lucas's further astonishment, her black skin-tight suit shimmered.  It seemed to glow like fire for a moment, then it was replaced... replaced by that damnable X-Man uniform Jean wore.  The new one.  Her eyes blinked, her face contorted as if she was struggling against herself.

"You're coming with me now!" said Lucas, making a psionic-barrage on Jean.  He'd knock her out, take her with him.  When they were alone, he'd be able to fix the damage Mastermind had obviously caused.

All his life, he'd been powerful.  Whatever he'd wanted, he got.  Be it by force or manipulation, with his powers or his charm.  He'd claimed control of the Circle when he was only nineteen, and destroyed anyone or thing in his way.  In some ways he was more of a child than his Ian alter-ego, but nothing had ever been able to stop him or teach him to behave properly.

He was about to receive a very harsh awakening.

Jean's eyes locked with his, and behind them he saw pure, unbridled power.  They glowed like flame, and her heard echo in the back of his mind the cry of a great bird of prey.  Before she struck, he saw a glimpse into her mind, and realized what Mastermind had done.  He'd doomed them all.  He'd unleashed something dark inside of Jean Grey.

Lucas barely had time to scream as waves of psionic fire washed over his body, reducing him to nothing in seconds and blasting away his consciousness to the Astral plane, forever severing the link that bound him to reality and leaving him to helplessly drift in the void.  As the fire washed away from Lucas and banished him to oblivion, his body underwent a peculiar transformation.  Gone was the goatee and sideburns, replaced by a swept back blonde hair.  Gone was the gothic clothes, replaced by casual khaki pants and a ripped white t-shirt.  And gone was the look of arrogance and darkness, now there was replaced an almost child-like innocence, touched upon faintly by inner strength.  Lucas was gone... and now only David remained.

To find yourself trapped in your own mind for the past three years was a horrible fate, but David was now very much afraid as he beheld the being before him.  The powerful Jean Grey in all her glory, her hair waving in an unseen breeze, fire practically pouring from her eyes.

"You should leave, David," she said, her voice surprisingly soft.  David remembered that voice.  From McFadden castle, where she'd tried to rescue him.  He relaxed marginally.  "This is not for your eyes," she added.  Then, with a back wave of her hand, she telekinetically lifted David off the ground and tossed him none-too-gently into the escape shuttle.  Another few telekinetic acts and the doors sealed shut, the shuttle launched, its destination pre-set for Scotland.  David's home.

Jean then knew, she was all alone on the station.  And she could not fight it anymore.

She fell, clutching her head.  It hurt, the power... it was too intense for any mortal to wield.  A shimmering light encased her form, as she cried out.  The station began to collapsed, crushing in on itself, tearing apart as it painfully re-entered Earth's orbit.  Jean screamed, one final time... and the power overtook her.  A bright wave of fire lashed out, destroying the Luna station as the Phoenix awoke.  And Jean Grey was re-born... as the Phoenix.  She stretched out her wings of pure fire and gave a triumphant cry.

All the power of the cosmos at her fingertips... all hers.

But the Phoenix sensed something was wrong.  And so it spread its great fiery wings and graceful as a dove arched through space as easily as the sky, turning and diving back down towards Earth.  Towards the small city of Bayville, NY.  Towards the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

One last thing it had to do.

The Blackbird had just settled into the landing bay beneath the mansion, as Cyclops and the other X-Men began to take care of the technicians.  Most of them weren't in too bad shape, and without the Circle present, those asleep had already started to wake up on their own.  Professor X was keeping a close eye on their guest, Emma Frost, and ensuring she was not using her powers to wreak anymore havoc.  She didn't seem interesting in such, however.  She was being surprisingly docile.

The other teams had started to come back by now, of course.  The New Recruits had arrived from their mission in the Morlock tunnels, and the adults had returned from Russia in a beat-up but still working XM-Velocity.  Said they'd had to make a 'drop off' somewhere in the Antarctic.  Nobody pressed them for details.  X23 had already managed to return.  She'd pulled Logan aside for a private word with him, and told him what had happened.  Logan didn't say a word... just pulled her into a much-needed hug.

Scott sat in the living room, watching the TV.  Watching the new reports of the Luna station as it burned up in orbit.  How nothing could've survived such an explosion that followed.

"She must've made it out alive," said Rogue, trying to comfort the X-Men's field leader.  She wasn't doing a very good job.

But the joyous reunions were cut short as the Mansion itself seemed to shudder, and storm clouds filled the sky.  Everyone glanced expectantly at Storm, but she shook her head.  It was not her doing.

X-Men made their way outside, almost universally stopping right on the patio before the grassy field.  Before them stood a spectacle that amazed even them.

It was Jean, but it wasn't.  This Jean was something else.  Her hair had grown, longer and thicker until it seemed like a lion's mane that stretched down all the way to her feet in long, tapered tip.  Her green eyes had turned entirely green and pupil-less, and seemed to glow with an inner fire.  Her uniform was the same, but the markings of the distinct 'X' were gone, replaced by golden birds on fields of red.  A similar gold bird stretched across her chest where a previously upside triangle had once rested.  In the place of her belt there now was wrapped a golden sash that waved in the breeze.  And this was to say nothing of the fiery bird that seemed to have engulfed Jean's body in waves of fire.  When she moved, it did.  In essence, it was her, and she it.

"I... AM... PHOENIX," she said, her voice resonating with pure power.

None of the X-Men knew what to do.  They were shocked, stunned, amazed, and horrified.  Many could not find words to express what they were feeling.  Only one, who wheeled himself up behind his students, could find a phrase.

"Oh my God..." murmured Professor Xavier.

It had come to pass.  What he'd seen in the mind of Apocalypse had come to pass.  There was no denying it any longer.  All he'd done, all he'd worked for to prevent this had failed.  Now, it seemed, the future was written in stone.  Now, it seemed, they had only one option.

To battle a friend who had become the most bitter of enemies.

Phoenix dropped down in front of Cyclops, who watched her with a mixture of fear and wonder.  He wasn't sure what to think anymore.  Even for him, a man who shot optic blasts from his eyes, who lived a girl who walked through walls and a demon and a werewolf, a man who'd saved the world on at least one or two occasions, his entire perception of reality had been thrown off by Jean's sudden transformation.

"PHOENIX HAS COME ONLY TO SEE YOU, SCOTT SUMMERS," she intoned, her voice resonating.  "THE OTHERS ARE OF NO CONSEQUENCE."

"What... Jean what're you talking about?" he asked, glancing at the others gathered on the patio and the grass, watching from a respectful distance the exchange between Phoenix and Cyclops.

"PHOENIX DEMANDS YOU SEVER THE LINK.  AND FREE HER," said the Phoenix, spreading out her wings in what could've only been described as a casual stretch.  Sever the link?  What was she talking about?

"Wait... the link... the link you and I share?" he asked.  Was that even possible?  The link was forged from love... she couldn't... he couldn't... he could never stop loving her.

"SEVER THE LINK.  YOUR LOVE BINDS THE PHOENIX TO THIS WORLD.  FREE HER, SO SHE MIGHT JOURNEY FREELY THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE."

"Jean... no... I can't..."

"DO NOT CALL US THAT!" shouted the Phoenix, lashing out with one of her hands.  Though it fell short of Cyclops's body, the telekinetic backlash that accompanied it did not, slapping him full across the face and nearly sending him reeling.  Nightcrawler barely managed to catch him in time.

"SEVER THE LINK!" shouted the Phoenix angrily.  More angry than any of the X-Men had ever seen Jean act before.

"I won't!" shouted Cyclops.  "Jean, stop this, something is wrong with you... let the Professor help...!"

Cyclops's words were cut off as the Phoenix stretched out a hand to her side, her murderous green orbs still locked on Cyclops's visor.  With a flick of her hand, Multiple and Berzerker were suddenly lifted up by outstretched flames, shaped like a great bird's claw, held in the air.  She made it very clear, with the talon pressed against their torso's, they would die in an instant should she so choose.

"SEVER THE LINK... OR THESE ONES DIE," she intoned.

"Not on my watch!" roared Wolverine, lunging at Phoenix with claws extended.  With barely an iota of her true power, she backhanded him with a flaming wing, sending him hurtling through the air as if he'd been launched from a catapult.  Wolverine soared up and through the air, his uniform singed, his body burnt, and he barely felt it as his body impacted against the Bay from which they city drew its name.  With adamantium laced bones, unconscious, he'd sink to the bottom and drown in a few moments.

None of the X-Men could do anything to save him, though.  They were riveted to the life-or-death situation before them.  No others had made a move yet against the Phoenix, fearing a similar fate.  Or worse, that she would go through with her threat and impale Berzerker and Multiple.

Cyclops broke the dreadful silence.

"Jean..."

"PHOENIX," replied the redheaded woman.  She did not raise her voice, but it seemed to radiate pure power, nearly knocking Cyclops off his feet again.  He continued on, ignoring her.

"... I love you.  I've always loved you.  I should've told you that from the day we met, but I was too scared.  That link we forged... it's a symbol of that love.  I can never break it... because I can never stop loving you," he said simply, his voice shaking only a little.

More importantly, his words seemed to have been reaching the Phoenix.  Her arm dropped slightly, and with it Berzerker and Multiple, and one eyebrow was quirked up in a confused expression.

"If you want the link severed," said Cyclops again.  "Do it yourself."

A long pause came, a moment that stretched out for what seemed like forever, as Jean's eyes reverted to their normal forest hue, the pupils reappearing.

"Scott...?" she asked, almost too softly to be heard.  He heard her though.  "I... ENOUGH OF THIS," she growled, her eyes again blazing like emerald suns.  She gestured with her hand, sending Multiple and Berzerker flying through the air.  Berzerker was only barely caught by Nightcrawler's quick intervention, and Multiple found himself slamming hard on the ground, then almost buried by a small pile of clones.  Fortunately, with little more than a bruise on his head.  All of their heads.

"SEVER THE LINK!" shouted Phoenix, launching herself up into the air once more.  Narrowing her eyes, she allowed twin bolts of fire to launched forth from her eyes, barreling down at the other X-Men present.  They scattered, seeking shelter behind the few statues and chairs that littered the patio and the grassy field.  Boom-Boom ducked down behind Magma, who shielded her with her own fiery powers.  Colossus moved quickly to protect Professor X, using his steel body as a shield.

"DO IT OR I SHALL DESTROY YOU ALL!" shouted the Phoenix, hovering in mid-air, her expression dark, her arms folded under her bosom as she waited for them to respond.

"X-Men, take her down!" shouted Cyclops.  "But remember, Jean Grey is up there too!  She's fighting this... let's see if we can't give her hand!"

So it was that the X-Men turned to take down their greatest foe.  One of their own.  With a power that rivaled that of Apocalypse, the first mutant, the Phoenix swatted aside her enemies with her power.  Iceman's attacks melted, leaving the Boston boy helpless.  Lightning, plasma, fireballs, time-bombs, nothing could penetrate the telekinetic shield the Phoenix had erected.  Cannonball bounced off and was swatted aside, sent hurtling into the wall of the Xavier Institute and nearly straight out into mid-day traffic.  Ineffective were the attacks of Sunspot, Beast and Colossus, who could not reach the Phoenix up in the sky.  X23 was swatted away before her claws could come close to even marring Jean's skin, let alone doing her serious damage.  Storm tried to use a whirlwind to force the Phoenix to fall to the ground... she was repelled by her own winds, turned back upon her.  Nothing could stop the cosmic power of this one redheaded being.

"You know normally I try to look on the bright side of things," remarked Nightcrawler as he watched Colossus and Beast get painfully repelled and slam hard into the ground.  "But I'm just not seeing one here."

Floating nearby, Rogue nodded grimly.  She'd already been swatted away by the power of the Phoenix, and wasn't anxious for a repeat.  "Any ideas, oh fearless leader?" she said, swooping down to where Cyclops was watching helplessly as his friends got beaten by his beloved Jean.  The whole situation screamed wrongness to him, yet for once he did not know what to do.

Then, suddenly, crystal clarity... an idea came to him.

"Rogue... do you think you can handle that power up there?" he asked suddenly, turning to face the southern belle.  She just blinked in surprise, glancing up and then back at him like he was nuts.

"Are you insane?"

"Just drain off a little of it... like the last time her powers went haywire," he said.  "Rogue, I would never ask under any other circumstances, but... but that's Jean up there... I can't..."

She smiled.  "Think you can talk her down again...?" she asked lightly.

He smiled back.

_Damnation this is boring_, though the Phoenix, grabbing X23 and tossing her away again as she sprung at her, barely paying any attention to the dark-haired girl with the claws as she slammed through a window and into the mansion.  She wanted to explore the universe.  _Damnit, just sever the link already and she'd go.  Why go through such pain and suffering?_

_Because they care about me_, answered the other part of her mind.  The lighter half.  The part that was not the Phoenix, but Jean Grey.

_They'll care less when they're dead_, replied the darker half.  The fiery aura around her blazed more brightly now.  It was time to end this.

Suddenly a body was behind her, and it latched on tight, ignoring the flames that would've burned the flash of any normal mortal.  A pale hand clamped onto the Phoenix's face, and Rogue screamed.  She was overwhelmed.  It was so much power, a veritable waterfall, it made her drain of Jean so long ago seem like a drop of water in comparison.  Overwhelmed, her body nearly succumbed, and she was hurled through the air to slam back-first into a tree trunk, shattering the tree and rendering herself unconscious.

However, the Phoenix's powers, such as they were, were indeed weakened by the attack.  Her aura blazed down to less awesome levels, then utterly vanished.  She dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch.  Her eyes still blazed like emerald suns, however.  She was far from defeated.

Cyclops started to step forward, his mouth open, but he stopped when a hand was laid on his shoulder.

"No Scott... this is my task.  I will handle everything," said Professor X, as he wheeled his chair past Cyclops and towards Jean.  Barely paying any attention to the scathing glare she gave him, he pressed one hand to his own temple, and the other to hers.

And then the world slipped away from him...

_"You would challenge me here, Xavier?" hissed the Phoenix.  "On the battlefield of the mind, where my power is strongest?"_

_"You do not own this mind, Phoenix.  This mind belongs to Jean Grey," stated Professor Xavier with grim certainty.  Here, in the mind, his astral projection could walk, and so it was he found himself slowly approaching the fiery-eyed woman before him. _

_"I am Jean Grey.  And she is the Phoenix," replied the red-headed woman, grinning at him.  She clearly had no fear at all for the worlds most powerful telepath.  And with good reason... her powers _were_ stronger than his._

_"You are no more Jean Grey than Onslaught is me," replied Professor Xavier, referring to his own darker self, safely sealed away inside of him.  All telepaths had them, all mutants had a dark side that was temptation to misuse their powers, to wreak havoc instead of use them responsibly.  "You are a darkness, a perversion.  You have Jean Grey's power but not her spirit and soul.  And to preserve those, I will cast you back into the darkness that created you, just as I did before."_

_"I was weaker then," intoned the Phoenix, spreading out her fiery wings.  "You were fortunate because I was still in the fledgling stage.  How will you beat me now, when I am stronger?"_

_"I will find a way," he replied._

_Then they clashed.  A psychic battle being what it was, strength and physical power did not mean as much as imagination and willpower.  Both of which both combatants had in great abundance.  But the Phoenix had all the untapped powers of the Jean Grey at her command, a girl at the apex of her powers, while Charles Xavier had passed beyond such long ago.  Thus it was that Professor X quickly found himself losing and, as the power of the Phoenix only continued to grow, the situation became more dire.  Not just for Jean, but for himself._

_"Jean!" he called out.  "I can seal her away but I need your help!"_

_Thus it was that Jean Grey finally emerged.  She had laid dormant, her true self hidden by the machinations of Mastermind, who had unwittingly awoken the Phoenix and brought her into the Circle, creating a temporary bind that had held her until Lucas had shattered it.  Now Jean Grey came forth, and her mind merged with the Professor's.  With her additional power backing him, he overwhelmed the Phoenix..._

_... and the dark side of Jean Grey was engulfed by the stone landscape of her mind, sealed away in a statue of herself, face locked in a perpetual scream of defiance.  The fire faded, and the link broke.  Jean and Charles regarded one another for a moment._

_"Thank you Jean," he said, his exhaustion apparent.  "I could not have won had not you helped me."_

_"I should be thanking you," she replied.  "You saved me."_

_He shook his head gently.  "No... you saved yourself.  Go to the others... they'll need you now... more than ever."_

_With that, the link was gently broken, and Professor X vanished from Jean's mind._

Professor X's hands dropped down, as he slumped backwards in his chair, breathing a deep sigh of relief.  Before him, Jean blinked her eyes.  Her uniform was restored, and her aura had dissipated completely.  She was herself again.  And there... Scott.  Jean flung herself into Scott's arms, burying her head into his chest as she cried.  Sobbed like a lost little girl.  The storm clouds above broke, and sunshine poured down mercifully upon the Xavier Institute.  She had been restored to them...

... but at what cost had victory come?

**Author's Notes:**

Phoenix realizes she's manipulated and smacks someone around?  In the comics it was Mastermind, here it's Lucas.  And now the re-emergence of David as the core personality, because in essence Jean just saved him by banishing Lucas to the Astral plane.  Oh, he might be back, but then again he might not, Astral planes tricky that way.  For those unfamiliar, Onslaught is Professor Xavier's dark side, much like Phoenix is Jean's.  He created it by accident when he used a psionic blast against Magneto.  Professor X and Jean's fight against the Dark Phoenix?  Again, comic history in the making.  Dark Phoenix saga, specifically.  This chapter, somebody died.  Next chapter, you find out who.  Now taking last minute bets.  Who bit the big one, come on you all think you know, but maybe you don't!  Ah, and a warning to all whom continue to read this and who have read my previous stories.  Any glimpses of the future you've seen before? flashes a red light in your eyes Never happened.  Prepare for something better.  Dun-dun-dun.

Todd fan: Awww, but Scott's such a lovable character.  Just as good as Todd and Forge.  Ah well, here you go hands back Todd and Forge to you.  Oh, and if Storm gives you any trouble, send her my way.  And yes, someone dies.  Some just did, actually.

Nessie6: Need I remind you the name of the show is X-Men Evolution?  X-Men, not Brotherhood!  They'll show up next chapter, but they are not involved in the main storyline.  So tough.

ViciousAssassin: Yeah I know, but when does Mesmero bother with physical combat if it can be avoided?  No Lucas didn't know about Bobby, he was doing your typical super-villain rant.  Little bit of both to get rid of Mastermind and be alone with his Queen's.  Plus, Emma is smart and manipulative, but on the whole she isn't very powerful as she might seem.  And yeah, Jean has no real feelings for Lucas, its all brain-washing and memory erasing.  I am trying to make Emma appear, well, at least a tiny  bit sympathetic.  But she really should've seen that coming.  Well, did you enjoy what you saw?  Still think it's the Professor?  Last chance to change your mind before next chapter rolls around and you find out.

X00001: Possibly, but Cyclops is a good, level-headed leader, and usually does the right thing in any situation.  He doesn't let his emotions get in the way, like, oh let's say… Logan.  Besides, he's a better person than the sort to just leave Emma there to die.

Lyranfan: Visions of a certain re-entry?  Involving Jean at the helm with a re-entering orbit Blackbird?  TAS, no doubt.  Don't worry, I'd like to think I did a better job than that, considering I wasn't working with the Li'landra, the Shi'ar, or the M'kran crystal.

Risty: Deadly weapons indeed.  I had that planned more or less from the beginning, to have the Circle crumble.  They always seem to do that, in any incarnation you find them.  And yeah, wanted to give Iceman a chance to shine.  Emma makes anything look good, but even she can get knocked down a peg or two.  Not like she didn't deserve it.

Star-of-chaos: Not a big fan of sea food myself, but whatever.  Oh come on, give Cyke some credit, he tries to be nice to the bad guys when he thinks he's got the upper hand.  Check-mate, I believe the expression is.  Nah, but Mesmero'll have enough trouble finding all that vibranium he lost, and Lucas, well… as you can see, he has his own problems to deal with right now.

Comet-hime: Oh I think it was fitting… lots of X-Men villains typically escape to start up some new evil plan and come back for more later.  Violent Rogue is indeed hot, just like violent Diana.  Ladies kickin' ass.  Torn indeed… duty vs. love.  Remind you of anyone we know and love?  I know I speak for most of the readers here when we say we can't wait for your new artwork.

Rogue14: I try to be unpredictable in my stories, yet have them make sense.  You can't argue that Emma didn't deserve that.  All I can say is poor Scott.  Women seem to be nothing but trouble for him.  Just like Kurt.

Oceanbang: I live to please.  Glad you enjoyed the sibling squabble.  I always do have some of the best fight scenes with one on one battles.  Especially with opponents of equal and similar abilities.

UniversalAnimeGirl: You know I did think of that, and I realized that method is imperfect because it still knocked the three to their knees.  The headbands prevent any sort of attack, like Magneto's helmet (at least, mental… not physical).  Plus I wanted to establish Lucas as more of a threat than the other members of the Circle.  The meteors (except Lockheed's) hit the moon, the station sent people to pick 'em up and hold 'em on Luna, and were about to send 'em down to earth when the Circle attacked.  Yeah, Bobby definitely needs to disobey more orders.  That or people need to give him better ones.  As for Jean becoming Phoenix, above no doubt cleared up your questions.  Her mind was in chaos.  I was exaggerating Colossus's weight.  You'll see what'll happen to Emma, I just hope no one kills me for it.  I know what the uniforms look like, I saw them on the Beyond Evo site where I work.  No, there are going to be sixteen chapters total.  Three after this one, chronicling events after the death of someone.

Princess Myra: Well plenty more long chapters to come, as you'll no doubt see.  Glad you enjoyed Bobby's time as a hero.  Hope you enjoy next chapter, when you find out exactly who died.  You may think you know who, but you don't.  And yeah, poor Scott.


	14. XIV

It was a sorrowful weekend, as the damage to the mansion and the grounds were repaired, patched up, fixed to as good as new.  How easy everything would be if their hearts could be fixed so easily.  If their lost friends could be restored to them.

The funeral was held that Monday, on the Institute grounds.

Logan's body could not be found, and he was presumed lost at sea.  If he wasn't he would've returned by now, would've made himself known to the others, but he didn't.  The Phoenix must've killed him.  Another death on the conscience of Jean Grey, who sat sobbing at Scott's side as they prepared for the funeral procession to begin.

Others had been arriving all day, in vehicles parked on the long driveway of the Xavier Mansion, and sometimes out on the street when space became to choked.  Families of the students, friends of the deceased, all were arriving to bid their final farewells...

... to Professor Charles Francis Xavier.

The battle to free Jean's mind had taken its toll on all of the mutants at the Institute.  Logan was lost, Rogue's body had been all but ripped apart, Jamie had broken an arm in nasty fall, but Xavier had paid the ultimate price to free Jean's mind.  He'd sacrificed himself to do it, using all of his power.  And then he'd quietly passed away.  Peacefully.

They were all there, of course, to bid farewell.  They'd set up chairs on two sides of the grassy field, where the ceremony was being conducted.  Initially it had been only one side, perhaps four dozen chairs, for the mutant children and their families.  However, as time went on, more and more people began to arrive to bid their farewells.  Including, most surprisingly of all of them, the President of the United States, George McKenna.  He was there to bid farewell to a man who fought so hard for mutant rights, and no one even dreamed of denying him.  Gabrielle Haller and her son David had also shown up, they sat alongside noted geneticist Moira MacTaggert and researcher Patronete.  Among them also sat a number of politicians, statesmen, old time business partners of the illustrious Charles Xavier, who, had he been alive, would have been shocked to see that he still had so many friends among the non-mutant community.

The students sat on the other side, behind Ororo and Hank.  All were dressed in mourning black, some were weeping.  Kurt continued to idly fiddle with the tiny cross in his palm, as he'd been doing for almost the entire weekend.  One hand fiddled, the other held Amanda Sefton's as they watched quietly, her parents behind them.  His sister Rogue sat next to them, a black veil obscuring her features.  Remy sat beside Rogue, one arm around her shoulder.  The DA had cut Remy a deal, to allow him to see the Professors funeral in exchange for a little information concerning a NY branch of the Rippers, which he'd gladly supplied.  Amara was beside herself with grief, clinging to Tabby, who also watched on with tear-filled eyes.  Jubilee too was crying, sitting in the back with her parents, trying very hard to be brave.  Piotr sat beside her, his face solemn.  The Guthrie's were in the back as well, very solemn in general, Sam sitting beside his sister Paige and his girlfriend Rahne.  The Morlocks had come as well, dressed up as best they could (considering their living conditions) to pay their respects.  Not-so-little Torpid was seated beside Jamie.  A chair was left open in respect for Logan.  Sarah sat beside it.  She did not cry.  She kept her pain inside.

Behind them were a smaller group of less reputable individuals.  Mystique sat in the back, in her Raven Darkholme guise, seated beside her was Irene Adler and Agatha Harkness.  Behind them sat Danielle Moonstar and her grandfather, come to pay their respects.  The inventor known only as Forge and his parents (introduced as his grandparents so as not to cause confusion) and the hacker Arcade, and also Dorian Leech and his mother.  The heir of the Worthington enterprises, Warren the III, sat in the back in a black formal suit that allowed for the free movement of his wings, and beside him was Alex Masters and his foster parents from Hawaii.  And beside him, at the very end, sat a diminutive little blonde girl by the name of Illyana Rasputin.

And then, surprisingly, there was one last group of visitors.

The Brotherhood walked past the Mansion's gate, the security having been deactivated earlier in the day to allow for the guests.  They were too dressed in black, formal and semi-formal clothes (the best they had) but a glance from Scott told him that they meant only to pay their respects, not cause trouble.  After all, Xavier had tried to reach out and help all of the Brotherhood at one time or another, and he was as much their friend as anyone else's.  John was the only one truly out of place, wearing a bright orange Hawaiian t-shirt and sunglasses, but even he seemed strangely subdued.  He had even stopped fiddling with his lighter.  They took their seats, Lance immediately moving closer to Kitty to console her, and she gladly sobbed into his chest, overcome by the sadness of the day.  Lockheed rested in her lap, and it too seemed subdued by all the sadness of the day and the countless humans surrounding it.

Finally, when everyone had arrived, Hank stood, stepping before the open casket to deliver the eulogy.

"We gather here today, to bid our final farewells to Professor Charles Francis Xavier," said Hank, his voice wavering only a little.  And to the credit of the audience, not one so much as gasped when they saw him, when they saw a great furry beast conducting the funeral.  They were all people here, bound together by sorrow and loss.

"Charles Xavier was a great man," he continued on.  "When I first realized who and what I was, I was frightened, as I imagine we all have been, at one point or another.  This man here did not question me, did not ask anything of me.  He simply said 'how can I help?'  Charles Xavier was many things in his life.  Philosopher.  Dreamer.  But most of all, I will remember him for his teachings.  He had a dream... a dream of a world where humans and mutants could live together in peace," he said meaningfully.  Then, for effect, he glanced at those gathered on the lawn of the Institute.  "I would like to think he would be very proud, if he could see us all gathered for him today, putting aside our differences and be united in our care and sadness."

Hank paused then, taking a moment to work a lump out of his throat before continuing on.  "Charles Xavier had created a legacy that will last far beyond the end of his life.  That legacy is in us, in the teachings he tried to give us.  Today we say good-bye to Charles Xavier, but we will never forget what he has taught us.  Professor Xavier was a hero, but he was more than that... for he taught his X-Men to be heroes as well."

Hank stepped down, and the procession broke as people made their way up in an orderly fashion to view Charles Xavier one last time before the casket would be closed and he would be buried on the estate.  His final Will had been found by Hank a few days ago, with instructions for him to be buried, with its caretakers permission, at Kurt's church.  A large stone in the partial woodlands that were part of the Xavier estate.  Kurt had wholeheartedly agreed.

There had been something else in the Will, as well.

"Scott, Jean," Hank said, getting their attention.  They had just given their last respects, stepping out of line for Kurt and Rogue to go next, with Mystique behind them.  "There's a matter in the Will concerning inheritance.  Charles asked that it be read with the two of you present."

"Sure," said Scott, his voice greatly subdued.  "Afterwards..."

"Of course.  Whenever you're both ready," said Hank, knuckling off to give them space.  They needed time to grieve, after all.

And so did he.

Eric Magnus Lensherr, known more commonly by his mutant alias of Magneto, watched the funeral from the sidelines.  He dare not approach further, not with secret service agents guarding the President and SHIELD agents like Fury sitting with his son and daughter.  Chatting rather pleasantly, he noticed.

He felt so tired.  As if the death of Charles had driven home the fact of just how old he was.  Already the senior of the two friends, Magneto now felt ancient.  And yet of the two, Charles had died first.

"Good-bye old friend," he intoned, floating behind the rise of the Xavier Mansion, out of view of the others.  "Perhaps some day I'll see you again.  In a place where you and I need not be enemies any longer.  Besides," he added, a wry smile touching his lips.  "You owe me a re-match for that last chess game we played."

It'd been a hobby they'd shared, what seemed a lifetime ago.  Simply chess.  Thirty-two pieces, two dimensions, one objective.  A world without complications.  How he'd enjoyed those games they'd played.  But now...

Eric sighed, lifting himself with the power of his will.  And he floated off, heading east.  He needed to rest.

Sarah Howlett sighed as the proceedings began to break down.  People were mingling now, remembering Professor Xavier, drinking punch provided by Ororo.  Sarah had never known the Professor very well, but she still felt for his loss.  As she did for the loss of Logan.  Breaking off from a talk with Agent Fury and Wanda, she wandered over to the wall that surrounded the mansion and leaned her back against it, sighing deeply.

Then suddenly her senses alerted her to something nearby.  Frowning, she sniffed the air... and caught that oh-so-distinct scent.

"Hey," she managed to whisper, her back against the wall.  She knew he could hear her.

"Hey yourself kid," came the reply.  She could sense it.  He was on the other side of the wall, back leaning against it.  Though she couldn't see him, he had a cowboy hat on and a heavy coat over his body to cover his features.

"I thought we agreed you never call me that again," she responded angrily.  It was all show anger, of course.  She was delighted (though not terribly surprised) to see he'd survived.

"Listen, I... I got some things that I need to take care of.  With the Professor around I wanted to help take care of the school, but now that he's gone its really long past time I moved on."

"Will you be back?"

"Maybe," he said, almost as an after-thought.

"We'll be missing you around here," she added uneasily.  Not adding the necessary 'I will miss you.'  Some things didn't need to be said.

"When I have some answers, I'll be back.  Just promise me you'll stay alive 'til then."

"If I live anywhere near as long as you do, that'll be no problem," she replied earnestly.

"Take care... Sarah," he said, then, as an afterthought, he added "Oh, and take care of my bike, wouldja?"  And then he was gone.  She shifted, tilting her head to listen, sniffing the air to check for scents.  He was long gone.  But Sarah wasn't sad.

A smile touched her lips briefly, before she covered it up with her usual grim look.  Wouldn't do to make it think she was happy at the Professor's funeral.  She could tell the others later that he'd survived, so they wouldn't need to throw a similar funeral later in the week.  That would cheer them up... a little.

Because of all the unusual and numerous guests, one or two unnoticed faces could've easily slipped in amongst the prestigious heads of state and businessmen, were they properly inconspicuous.  Cain Marko was, unfortunately, none of these things, and even without his armor he stood a head and foot taller than the average joe, and would've been spotted immediately.  However, the answer had presented itself to him in the form of a secret service agent.  Cain had left him in the bush after confiscating his uniform.

Now he stood alongside the President of the United States, peering down at the body of his little brother.  Half-brother, really.  Mutual mother.  Charlie had never been that big to begin with, not even compared to pre-Juggernaut Cain.  But still, looking down at him now... he looked so unbelievably fragile and tiny.

The Juggernaut had been waiting for this day for ages.  He'd wanted to destroy his brother for everything he'd stolen from Cain.  But now, it was here... and he felt nothing.  He felt no joy, no sense of triumph.

Cain Marko looked in the mirror and realized what a monster he'd become.  As responsible for Charlie's death as the mutant girl who'd destroyed his mind.  Angrily, Cain turned his head, glad that the secret service sunglasses he wore covered his eyes.  He didn't want anyone to see him crying.

There, the redhead... she was crying too, resting her head on the shoulders of her sunglasses boyfriend.  Cain could've walked over their, crushed her head with no problem.  Even without his armor he was still the Unstoppable Juggernaut, with all the strength and power that came to him from his use of mysticism.  But... still...

... he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He might feel nothing again, and would kill again, and again, and again, just trying to feel something, just trying to relieve his inner pain.  And he'd fail.

Silently, Cain Marko stomped out of the Institute gates as soon as discreetly possible, tearing off his jacket and tossing it aside, leaving on his t-shirt and pants as he stalked back to the warehouse he'd hidden his armor.  Not to get it, but to have some time alone.

He needed to think... and to mourn.

'Professor Charles Francis Xavier'

'Husband, Father, Teacher and Dreamer'

'1949 - 2004'

So was carved into the stone now placed alongside the greater one of Kurt's church.  The casket was carried by his X-Men.  His students... and his family.  And laid to rest.  Kurt, while an inexperienced clergyman, had none-the-less been able to call upon what little training he'd received in Heirelgart as a priest to recite a few closing words, as the casket lowered into the ground.  Then it was over, and the guests began to disperse.  Hank, Jean, and Scott, made their way inside to deal with more legal matters concerning the Institute and its occupants.

Professor Xavier's lawyer was present, of course.  An old friend of the Professor Xavier and, indeed, even his parents Brian and Sharon Xavier before him, he made no comment on the mutations of his friends.  A kindly old man whose mind was none-the-less as quick as ever, he was their legal aid in these troubled times.  Scott and Jean took seats, as did Hank across from them as the lawyer read from the final Will and Testament of Charles Xavier.

"... do hereby leave my entire estate, including all of my personal assets, to Scott Summers and Jean Grey.  All personal heirlooms of the Xavier family now belong to aforementioned Summers and Grey, including but not limited to the Institute for Gifted Youngsters and the grounds on which it is on.  A sum of one million dollars is to be set aside for each student of the Institute following his or her successful obtaining of a college-level degree..." and here he broke off, placing the will before him.  "There a number of legal matters after that, but its nothing to overly concern yourselves with."

"You mean... we own the Institute?" asked Scott, shocked beyond all reason.  The elderly lawyer nodded his head.

"If you want to.  You are legal age, after all.  All you need to do is sign here," he said, pulling out another paper.  The deed to the Institute, Scott could tell at a glance, with spots for both himself and Jean to sign.  "Of course, if you feel this is too much, we can have all the assets and everything else liquefied, turned straight into cash.  I don't think that's what Charles would've wanted but... what he would wanted would have been for you both to make your own decisions," he added, sliding a pen across the table.

Scott picked up the paper, reading it.  Ostensibly it was to make sure there were no hidden clauses (read before you sign, after all) but in reality it was to buy time as he shared a brief telepathic conference with Jean.

_Should we?_ he asked.

Scott, I dunno... I want to stay here but... can we?

_If we don't, what'll happen to the X-Men?  To all the kids, some of them don't have families or homes to go back to._

_Whatever you decide is fine, Scott, but ask yourself this... do you really want to take on this responsibility?  To fill Xavier's shoes?_

_I don't know if I can_, he replied honestly._  But I want to try._

Scott signed his name in crisp, bold strokes of the pen.  Jean signed hers beside it.  Beneath the table, they clasped hands, and Scott could feel the ring on her finger.  Suddenly, the future did not look so bleak.

**Author's Notes:**

And so the main character death I spoke of has finally come to pass.  Did I surprise anyone?  Probably not, at least a few of you figured it out, but the rest must've been shocked.  Wolverine's near death was of course to throw people off.  Well, I hope you enjoyed the funeral and maybe even shed a tear or two (I know I did).  Still, the X-Men will go on, and this story isn't yet done.  Xavier's funeral was largely inspired by the Justice League episode 'Hereafter,' and the X-Men: TAS episode 'Graduation' (now you know where I got the title).  What comes next is what happens afterwards to the X-Men.  President of the United States George McKenna comes from the X2 movie and book.  The reference to Eric and Charles playing chess is also of course from the X-Men movie.  Brotherhood sitting with SHIELD Agents?  I think you can guess where that's going.  Xavier's birth date was just a rough guess on my part, based on what I think his age is (I mean, he's not ancient, and he does have a teenaged kid).  Next time, a glimpse into the future.  And I again remind all who have read my previous stories with glimpses into the future... forget all you have seen.  Prepare for the unexpected.

Risty: Not really, this was the ending of the Dark Phoenix from the TAS saga.  Scott talking Jean down is highly over-rated, plus its already been done.  Romantic on the edge of doom… yes an appropriate description.  Hope you weren't disappointed to find out your guess was wrong.

Nessie6: You prefer TAS Wolvie to Evo Wolvie?  That stupid twit who spent half his time whining about Jean and the other half running off to beat up Sabertooth?  Well as you can see your fears were groundless.  And the day the Brotherhood have their own show is the day I swallow a bucket of scorpions.  X-Men Forever!

ViciousAssassin: Died at the very end of the chapter, breathing his last.  Wolverine was to throw everybody off.  And no, Phoenix wasn't yelling, her voice was just naturally powerful and echoing everywhere, hence the uppercase letters.  And yeah, everyone has a dark side of their personality, and at least half the X-Men at the Institute have 'Former Villain' on their resumes.  Even Xavier briefly as a Horseman.  Wolverine's relationship with X23?  Clones they may be, yes, but clearly different, so I'm thinking right now as Father-Daughter.  If she got older but he stayed the same, maybe as Brother-Sister… maybe.  No, 'fraid no happy reunions for the Xavier's.  And when I say possibility, it means just that… this possibility I had to turn down, unfortunately.  As for who feels guilty about Prof X's death, quite a lot of people, but the blame rests solely on the departed Phoenix.  As for loose ends… possibly, maybe.  But I really should move on.

Sandoz: David does indeed seem like a nice guy, at least towards Jean and maybe a bit towards his dad, so he deserves a happy ending.  Unlike meanie Lucas.  As for the armband seen in the future scenes on X23, I think that was part of her uniform, not a sign of mourning.  Glad you enjoyed the comic references, including the mention of Onslaught (who bears a remarkable resemblance, power-wise/personality-wise with a certain Mindcoil).

X00001: Jean Grey is free of her dark side (though it lives within her still, as do all of ours) though she is still no doubt trapped and caged by guilt over the death of her dear Professor X.  Lucas -is not- dead.  He was banished to the Astral Plane.  Believe me, he probably wishes he was dead, right about now.  Ah well, the Shadow King can keep him company.

Todd fan: Awww, but you guessed right.  You win a prize.  I agree, I'll miss Lucas too.  He was a most entertaining villain.  But such is life.  He might come back some day, the Astral Plane never did seem to keep the Shadow King under control very well.  You keep up the good work with your many stories.

Star-of-Chaos: Clearly there will be no Onslaught, with Professor Xavier six feet under.  I mentioned him only in comparison to the Dark Phoenix, as powerful telepaths dark sides.  Jamie?  I considered that, actually, but settled on Professor X to force everyone to move on and grow past their teacher and "graduate."

Danfred: I -am- a rabid Rogue fan, I'll have you know.  I would never kill her or X23, I love them too much.  And no, 'fraid Wolverine was a decoy.  It was Professor Xavier.  Surprised you, didn't I?

DoubleL27: I'd like to think they've all grown up.  If you don't believe me, look waaaaaay back in Season One from Evo.  They've totally changed.  And yeah, Scott may've relaxed in his job, but doesn't mean he doesn't do the right thing all the time.  Glad you enjoyed the end to my version of the Evo Phoenix Saga.

Princess Myra: Bingo!  You got it right on the nose and noticed all the subtle, cryptic clues I left along the way to show who it was.  Glad you liked the return of Jean and David and the bright ending to an otherwise dark and angsty fic.

Comet-hime: Kickass indeed.  I love making Rogue the hero, now that she's Marvel empowered I just love throwing her headfirst into the thick of combat.  And yeah, poor Professor X, but the X-Men'll do just fine without him, I think.  He taught 'em well.  And yeah, glad that Jean's back.  I think I actually managed to salvage her character completely from the bitch we all hated back in Seasons One and Two.

UniversalAnimeGirl: Brief but good.  I spent enough time on action sequences with the Divide and Conquer chapters.  Of course I didn't kill off Wolvie, he was a decoy to distract from Prof X biting the big one.  Wolverine is still alive, and Sarah knows he'll come back.  But Rogue and Kitty will have to deal with Logan being gone.  And yeah, I noticed the Scott-talks-Jean down is a little too commonplace for my tastes.  I try being unique.  And they won't need to recover Wolverine's body, as you've seen.  X-Sub?  Not gonna happen… ever.  Colossus or Rogue can handle it, if it comes to that.  Enjoy the upcoming chapters as I wrap everything up.

Rogue14: Just like Xavier, Scott has no luck with women.  Neither does Bobby, half his former girlfriends have tried to kill him at one point or another.  Of course not X23 or Rogue!  I love those X-Girls, and I'd rather die before they did!

Oceanbang: He survived!  It was all a ploy!  Muwahahahah!  Professor X bought the farm, he did!  X23?  You honestly think I would kill her after giving her a whole frickin' story?!  Blasphemy!  Her and Rogue might as well be immortal in my stories, they ain't ever gonna die.  Mastermind doesn't count, he isn't a major character.  He was seen in three episodes of Evo (and one was a non-speaking cameo).

Pixie Stick Addict: Very few of the New Recruits were shown in the future shots, except for Bobby.  Besides, isn't Sam immortal in the comics or something silly?  Ha, no it wasn't Logan.  Jean kill herself, oh come on its never gonna be that easy.  Glad you enjoyed her smacking around Lucas though.  I love giving villains what they deserve.

Elrohirthewriter: Oh but the story is not yet over, there is more involved in Graduation, else I would've simply left it a tale about the Phoenix.  I will certainly try to keep writing well, but I'll need insight and criticism from good readers and reviewers such as yourself.  Blue Christmas deleted chapter?  You don't have an E-mail or IM under your screenname, so send me that and I'll be happy to provide you with it.


	15. XV

Five Years Later...

The gates to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters opened up, allowing a sleek red convertible to pull into the parking lot.  Five years was a long time, and a lot had changed, but some things never did.  Scott absolutely refused to give up his pride and joy, and parked it proudly alongside the other cars in the garage.

But some things did change, and no where was this more evident than the Xavier Institute.  Scott and Jean had decided to keep the name, and let it forever be a legacy of Charles and his work.  The Mansion itself was unchanged, through a great deal of its inner rooms had been re-worked.  The Institute had grown in the past few years, and now was easily the size of Bayville University, further downtown in the city.  It had to be bigger...

... for the students.

Using some of Xavier's (now their own) personal funds, Scott and Jean had expanded east into what was previously real estate area.  Most of the tenants had abandoned the buildings, fearful of living so close to mutants, and it was sold with little fuss.  Jean and Scott had, with some aid from the Confidential Construction Company, leveled the buildings and knocked them all flat, building from scratch the two new ones that were currently standing there, just inside the wall that marked the edge of the Institute.

A girl's dorm and boy's dorm.

Housing all their new students in the Mansion itself would very difficult, particularly given the added addition of a nursery in what had previously been Jean's room (she'd moved in with Scott after they'd been married).  Teenagers and little kids were not a good combination, and so the classes were held in the rooms on the sub-levels, along with the Danger Room and the hangar.

Scott passed by the main doors of the Institute, stepping inside.  Inside, the Institute had changed little, the halls were the same, covered in semi-valuable paintings and statues, many of which were artful forgeries (just in case a mutant's powers went on the blip).  It was a busy time of the day, a busy time of the season.  Fall.  A time of classes and griping from the students.  As Professor Xavier had before them, Jean and Scott encouraged the students to attend classes at Bayville High to interact with their non-mutant peers.  They did not force them to... but they did subtly encourage them with the alternative of spending their weekdays in the Danger Room... with Sarah.

Fall it may have been, but it still felt like summer, and the heat was unseasonably powerful.  Scott decided to stop by the kitchen for some water.  His throat felt like the Sahara desert.

He spotted Kurt there, and Amanda as well, sharing a quiet conversation between afternoon courses.  They taught at the Institute as teachers for those few mutants who had to be home-schooled.  Kurt taught Philosophy, Amanda taught Mathematics.  They were married now, at least five years now without incident.  They even had a kid now, named Bluebelle, who was no doubt in the nursery now with Rachel, giving Ororo no end of grief no doubt.  The kid definitely took after her father.  Scott was lucky, at least Rachel took more after her mother.

"Any trouble?" asked Kurt idly, as Scott grabbed the water and downed it.

"Nothing.  False alarm, it seems... just some latent mutants.  I gave them the number, but I doubt any of 'em will manifest any powers."

"They have no idea how lucky they are," remarked Kurt.  Scott nodded in agreement.

"Any word from the happy couple on vacation?"

"What, sister Rogue and Gambit?  Nada.  They all but dropped off the face of the earth," he replied.

"Must've wanted some privacy," remarked Amanda knowingly.

"Well at least they won't be here corrupting the kids," remarked Kurt in an off-handed manner.  He'd made it pretty clear he'd never really cared for his sister's husband, but he took care to only voice his opinion when neither was around.  At least he made her happy.

"Ororo still dealing with the kids?" asked Scott.

"For another..." Amanda checked her watch.  "Half hour or so, then Kurt and I take Bluebelle off her hands.  Why?"

"Figured I can drop in on her early, take Rachel and meet up with Jean for some family time."

"Good idea," remarked Kurt.  "Jean could use some downtime.  She's mega stressed with all the school stuff starting up again."

"Alright thanks, you two enjoy your break," said Scott, tossing his now empty water bottle into the recycling and heading down one of the Institute halls to find the nursery.

"Better steer clear of the pool, I hear the newbies were planning to commandeer it for a full scale water war once classes let out...!" shouted Kurt over his shoulder, making Scott laugh.  But he did make note of it.  Best to stay clear of the teens.  Mutant teens did indeed tend to get very rowdy, and right now all he wanted was some quiet time with Jean.

Scott passed by what had previously (wow, it seemed like a lifetime ago) been Evan's room, idly peering in as he heard Bobby continuing with his lecture to a small group of very bored mutant teenagers.  The only official residents of the Mansion now were the Summers family, the LeBeau's, Sarah Howlett and Ororo Munroe, who was Rachel's caretaker when her parents were busy (as well as the little tyke's godmother).  Most of the older students had moved on and found new homes.  Those who stayed behind to teach at the Institute tended to live a short while away in the city itself, like Kurt and Amanda did.  Bobby was sharing an apartment with his fiancée, a hydro-kinetic mutant by the name of Darcy Harper.  She worked as a lifeguard on the beaches.

Roberto and Ray, both still single (though not complaining in the least) lived as roommates in up town Bayville, and worked at the Institute as teachers.  Roberto taught physical education (which was anything short of Danger Room practice) and Ray specialized in computers.  Jubilee taught at the Institute world culture and history, but she rarely stayed around long.  She was in-between things at the moment, unable to find work or a proper place to live, and more often than not wound up crashing with Roberto and Ray.

Rogue and Remy, who also lived at the Institute, worked as teachers for the very highly valued virtue of self-restraint.  Something which both of them were experts on.  Their children, Adrienne and Charles LeBeau (named after the deceased Professor) stayed in the nursery under the care of Ororo.

Sarah lived at the Institute, working as a teacher and general guardian of its population, much as her sire had before his departure.  She taught in the Danger Room how to survive and harness mutant powers to their fullness.  Under the watchful eyes of Scott and Jean to make sure things didn't get too out of hand.

As Scott walked past the classroom towards the nursery, he idly wondered how the rest of the old team were doing, scattered across the world as they were.

Spyke was doing his rounds, checking the Morlocks sentries.  Their numbers had swelled in the past year or so, and now they had almost three dozen members.  As such, whenever they had to go topside for food, they were getting spotted more and more often.  Thus, the sentries had been set up to give an early warning off non-mutant intruders.  Calliban would alert them if mutants got within' half a mile of the Alley.  Most humans were getting slightly more sympathetic to the deformed Morlocks, but Spyke and his second-in-command, Callisto, felt it wasn't yet time for the Morlocks to return to the surface.  Not yet.

Spyke paused as he passed by Scaleface, giving her a nod and ignoring the salute she tossed his way.  He had told her countless times he hated it when they did that.  He was their leader now sure, but he was still just a mutant, same as they were.  No better no worse.

It was getting late though, and as Spyke watched the next batch of sentries were heading out to replace the current ones.  He'd set up the system himself, utilizing mutants with the best suited abilities or with little else to do, and carved the schedule in stone (literally, using a flaming spike, into the wall).  But for Spyke it was late, and he turned his steps back to the Alley, to get some rest.

Callisto greeted him as he found their private quarters (privacy for the Morlocks being as thick as a makeshift tent wall) and laying down beside her, smiling at her.  She smiled back, drawing over one of his hands to press against her swollen belly.  She was heavy with child, at least seven months along (as near as either of them could tell... time didn't mean much in the monotone Morlock tunnels).  Now they were counting the days, awaiting the emergence of their first child.  Spyke could not have been happier.

Moira MacTaggert sighed, closing the door behind her.  It was another bad day for Kevin, and they'd made very little progress.  Days like this never failed to put her in a foul mood.

"Coffee?" came a cheerful voice to her right.

"Thank you Hank," she said, accepting the cup and sipping the black, sweet mixture.  Just the way she liked it.  "How did I ever get on without you?"

"I dare say not very well," he replied, glancing at the now sealed door.  "Bad day?"

"Worst I've seen yet... and we were making such progress too," she replied, as she walked to the lab, and he knuckled on along after her.  Hank worked full-time with her as a researcher, having earned his doctor's degree a few years prior.

"Oh by the way, our benefactor Mr. Worthington is outside," remarked Hank.  "He said he'd like to speak to you... something about your requests for additional funding."

"Oh very well," she said, finishing off her coffee.  "Go stall him for a bit, I need to freshen myself up first."

"Indeed," he said, heading off to go find Warren and tell him about the delay.  He doubted the winged businessman would like it.  He had so little patience these days, always on the move, always working.  All the joy had gone out of his life when he'd learned of his parents death.  Poor fellow.  To walk as an angel on earth, without knowing the joy of heaven.

How poetic.

Beast passed by the science lab, noting at a glance that Dr. Patronete and Dr. Risman were busy at work, still trying to unravel the mysteries of the mutant gene.  They'd likely finish in another three or four years, at the rate they were going.  Still, with the human gene cracked, a blueprint was made, and it couldn't be much harder than that.

The only really hard part was dealing with mutants themselves.

Rural life really was the simple life, thought Rahne.

Here, alone on the Guthrie farm smack in the middle of Kentucky, Rahne could begin to forget the fast cars, fast talking and fast everything of city life.  How anyone could stand it and not go crazy was totally beyond her.  Here, on the farm at least, one could sit and hear themselves think.

Sam sat nearby, resting after an exhausting day of work on the farm.  He tossed a smile over her way, and she smiled back.  They'd been married for only a week or so now, but they could not have been happier.  Rahne had been all too eagerly accepted into the Guthrie clan, even though she and Sam were given their space.  Newlywed privileges and all that.  Technically, Sam didn't even have to be working this morning, but he'd done it anyway to clear away some dead trees (using his mutation) and save his cousins some of the trouble.

Rahne smiled, sitting down beside her new husband and hugging him tightly, her auburn hair loose and unbound.  The sun was setting, and soon it'd be time to head inside and cook dinner.  Sam couldn't cook any better than Kitty could, and they both knew it.  The Scottish wolfgirl knew that, and was alright with that, was alright with the peaceful life of a housewife.  At least she had someone who loved her dearly.

Piotr Rasputin leaned back against the far wall, standing behind his business partner.  Of the two, he was the brawn, not the brains.  He wasn't paid to think or to talk.

That was Jamie's job.

"Listen, I know you two were recommended by the Construction Company," remarked the individual with which they were meeting.  "But you're just two men, and you say you can do the job in a third of the time as your competitors?  Demolition and construction?  You must be out of your minds."

"Oh our timetables are accurate," replied Jamie smugly.  "The question is whether you'd rather hire us before someone else does."

The business man took another look at the papers, at the time-table scheduled by this little brown-haired young man... couldn't have been more than twenty-one... and his big, hulking business partner.  Just two of 'em in the whole team, and they thought that, with a bare minimum of construction gear and no demolition gear, they could get this job done?  Madness.  Madness... or...

"You two... wouldn't happen to be mutants would you?" he asked, somewhat nervously.  On the whole, mutant hatred and tension was dying down, but it was still something important he had to know.

"Does it matter, as long as we get the job done?" asked Jamie casually.

"I like your attitude.  Alright," he said, signing the paper.  "Keep to the time-table and you'll get paid what you've asked for.  You know where the lot is I want torn down, and I'll have my secretary e-mail you the blueprints.  Think you can handle it?"

"Heck no," replied Jamie, standing up and shaking the businessman's hand.  "I -know- we can handle it."

Kitty sighed, tugging off her glasses and placing them on the table before her.  Bills had never seemed so annoying to pay until they'd moved to DC.  Then again, things like protection from international threats were rather welcome, so she'd put up with it.

Lance was away on business, working on his job as a member of Freedom Force, the reborn Brotherhood.  How ironic, once they'd been utter delinquents, now they were the personification of government enforcement.  Specifically made to handle the capture of unruly mutants.  The X-Men did much the same job but they, thought Kitty with a smirk, did not receive a check from the government every month.

It wasn't anything fancy, just a two-room apartment, one for them of course, one for little Dominic.  Now a little three year old, he had already mastered crawling and walking, and was babbling away in the way only cute little babies could.  Kitty Alvers felt nothing but pride for him, and the boy's father Lance felt the same way.  Even if he wasn't around often to show it, he made up for it with the time he was around.  He wasn't neglectful.

Now their worst difficulty was keeping the presence of Lockheed secret from the landlady, who had a strict 'No Pets' policy in their building.

Todd smiled, cooing at the little bundle of joy in his lovely wife's arms.  Little Tonya was only six months old, and frightfully small, but both her parents loved her as much as they did one another.  Looking back on their blissful marriage, Wanda wondered idly why she hadn't seen this side of Todd earlier.  Despite his lack of book smarts and good hygiene (she was working on that, and making some progress) he had some wisdom that Wanda, for all her power, did not possess, and he had a loving heart, which he'd given to her.  She'd nearly broken it once or twice when they'd been young... but now she treasured it.

And there was little Tonya Tolenski, the living, breathing symbol of their love.  She'd grown into a fine young woman some day.

And thanks to the work the Scarlet Witch and the Toad were doing as part of Freedom Force, it'd be a better world when she did finally grow up.

A whoosh of air filled the SHIELD headquarters, causing files to fly up into the air and employees to scramble for cover.  All but one, that was.  Crystal barely raised her head as a silver and white blur solidified just behind her, skidding to a hard stop.

"Behave you, I've got another hour before I'm off, then I'm all yours," she stated idly, not even glancing over her shoulder.  She knew who was there.  No one else moved that fast.

"Awww come on," he pleaded, wrapping his arms around her neck and kissing her earlobe playfully.  She swatted his hands away.  "Time always seems extra slow whenever I'm waiting for you to get off work."

"So take a few laps around the world," she remarked, placing a file away in the desk before her.

"You're no fun," he said, pouting.  She smirked.  Attractive he was, charming he was, but such a child always.  Speedster or no speedster.

"Alright.  Half an hour.  Not one second earlier," said Crystal, sorting through her papers a little faster than before.  To be done on time.  She had a flawless record on her SHIELD profile, and she didn't want it messed up by the latest influence into her life.

"Knew you couldn't resist Quicksilver," said the speed-demon, kissing her cheek and zipping off to go wait for her, trying to find a way to preoccupy himself, no doubt.  Not for the first time, she was glad she was an orphan.

It would've been funny though, to see how her parents would've reacted to meeting her fiancée.

"Read 'em and weep ladies!  Full house!  More power to Pyro!" shouted the red-head, giving a small victory dance before giving his partner in crime, the human Blob, a high-five.  Fred then had to help John back up to his feet.

Across the table, Arcade and Forge grunted in disgust, tossing down their cards.  John always had more luck with texas hold 'em than they did.  The cards liked him for some unfathomable reason.  Probably because nobody else did.  Well, except his readers.  John was well known among the book community as a writer of gothic romance.  Under an alias, of course.

Pyro and Blob were part of Freedom Force, the mutants that went out and promoted justice and disarmed hostile situations no one else could.  However, Arcade and Forge were their tech team, the brains and the equipment behind the impressive might of the Freedom Force mutants.  They had a game of cards every Friday night a week, provided they weren't on duty.  And even then, half the time, John showed up with a deck of cards and high stakes.

David smiled, nodding to the chauffer as he slipped out of the long black limousine, stepping up into the Legacy corporation building.  The doorman tipped his hat to David, who nodded dimly.  Five years later and he still felt nervous about all of this.  Running one of the biggest companies in the world.

Lucas's empire had indeed been vast, and since David and he were essentially the same person, genetically at least, David had been accepted as the rightful head of the Legacy board with little fuss.  A few legal documents had his named changed back to David Xavier, and with the rest of the Circle gone (except one) he was more or less in total control of the company.  Naturally he'd been overwhelmed at first... but over the years he'd managed to take care of things rather smoothly.

The Legacy company was now a legitimate organization, honesty and integrity behind every deal he made.  They had more than enough money to allow for morals, and they still were the cutting edge of genetics technology.

Emma nodded to David as he slipped into his office.  Out of a need to keep someone experienced around to assist him, David had been forced to keep the infamous White Queen present on the board of the Legacy company, though he made it clear from day one he wouldn't tolerate any sort of under-the-table, behind-his-back, back-alley dealings.  Everything would remain legit now.  That... and he would be keeping an eye on her.  So would the X-Men.  They couldn't officially pin anything on her (not wishing to draw undue attention to existence of the Circle and cause further panic) but they did keep a very close eye on her as well.

Emma however, was a changed woman.  And a loyal subordinate to the rising David Xavier and his Legacy company.

Nova Roma was a changing society these days.  The return of the Royal Princess was the most notable sign of this.  That and the fact that she had returned with someone from the outside world.

Amara Aquilla had returned to find her lands in a state of chaos following the death of her father, the King of Nova Roma.  Quick to re-assert herself into power, she'd fixed what damage she could before making it official that she was now reigning Queen of Nova Roma.  Amara had been forced, according to her father's wishes (carried out in his will), to marry a rather witless nobleman for political reasons, but she bore him no love, and he was well aware of it.  He kept his slimy hands to himself...

... if he didn't, Amara's Royal Consort likely would've blown them off with a time-bomb.

Tabitha Aquilla-Smith had been accepted by the Nova Roman's with little protest, not only as Amara's Royal Consort, but also as her chief Advisor on the Modern World.  With Tabby's help and a little assistance from the Institute, they were slowly modernizing Nova Roma.  A few things at a time, radios and telephones were the start, but in a few years they'd be easily the equal of a smaller city in America.

Things were good.

Sarah had left the Institute early, canceling the scheduled Danger Room session to allow the kids some more free time to do their homework and relax.  Despite claims of the new recruits to the contrary, she was not a slave-driver.  At least, not compared to how bad Logan would've treated them.

But Logan had only been hard on the students to prepare them for the dangerous world that awaited them, sometimes forgetting what it'd once been like to be a kid, to be innocent, to be without scars.  He hadn't had any on his body, but he'd had plenty on his soul and on his mind.  His memories were lost, and he'd gone looking for answers, promising he'd be back.  He had yet to fulfill that promise.

Sarah was nearly his polar opposite, having been born into darkness and raised by death and killing, yet now, having come to the Institute and experienced the innocent life of a teenager, she could more easily relate to the kids.

Didn't mean she cut them much slack though.

Sarah's destination today was lookout point, where she could have a clear, unobstructed view of Bayville and the surrounding land and water, and enjoy the peace and quiet of the natural settings.  She smiled, leaning back on her motorcycle and let the wind rustle her long, thick brown hair.

She half-expected Logan to show up, to try and sneak up on her, for her to catch him, for them to carry on something like a conversation…

… but he didn't.  He was gone.

Sarah sighed softly, staring out at the horizon.  Wherever he was, she hoped he'd found something that could put his troubled mind to rest.

Class ended at the Xavier Institute at exactly four thirty pm, and the students were dismissed by Bobby to go do as they pleased.  Which, in this sweltering early fall heat, meant swimming in the olympic-size pool in the backyard.

The first to arrive was, unsurprisingly, little Gabi Jorgensohn, a white-haired tiny wisp of a girl with a black lock coming down in front of her eyes.  She was from Winzeldorf, Germany, and had nearly been burned at the stake when she'd discovered her mutant power.  That of time-freezing, which had earned her the nickname of Blink.  She'd been rescued by those at the Institute (notably Scott and Kurt) and brought back to America to learn how to harness her powers.  Able to halt time had its advantages, she'd decided.  She could suit up and be by the pool before anyone left their seats back in the classroom.

Following after Gabi came a blonde-haired boy and girl, whom even at a glance anyone could've told were brother and sister from their similar features.  The boy had silver eyes and a quiet smile on his face, with dyed black hair on his blonde locks.  He was slim and muscular, but seemed more comfortably in the shade of a nearby tree, reading a book, than swimming in the pool.  His name was Day Jackson, codenamed Misery, able to sense and alter human emotions.

His sister, a stunning beauty with pink-tipped blonde hair and a wide smile, was clad in a pink one-piece bathing suit and headed for the edge of the pool.  Then, the grass on the ground seemed to lift her up and almost toss her into the water as she dove in, graceful as a swan.  Her name was Rosaline, Rosie for short, and her power of the plant kingdom had earned her the nickname of Willow.

Following behind the Jackson twins was the blue-haired visage of Madison James, who dived in after Rosie, following her to the loveseat as the two of them cooled off and chatted.  Or rather, Rosie chatted, Maddy just nodded or shook her head as appropriate.  Covered in scars, the result of an unfortunate childhood, Madison was mute from a particularly bad slash across her throat, which had severed her vocal cords.  Now she was unable to communicate save with telepathy, and that was very limited.  Her ability was to manipulate other people's bodies... almost like a puppet-master.  She was called Masque.

Jono joined them next, as quiet as Madison, his voice also lost to him, though from his mutation.  His body was carefully covered and wrapped in bandages beneath his dark clothes, all the way up to his nose.  This was because his body, stretching from his mouth all the way down to his stomach, was pure psionic energy, which he could manipulate to give off powerful blasts of energy.  He was called Chamber and, like Madison, communicated via telepathy.

Seeing the pool was already starting to fill up, the Braddock siblings had elected to do some swords practice on the terrace instead.  Brian, the bigger of the two, was slender and muscular with a great broadsword in his hands and a pair of bright blue eyes under a shock of blonde hair.  His sister Betsy was a lithe thing with dark violet locks of hair and a pair of equally blue eyes, holding before her a slim but deadly katana.  His name was Captain Britain, hers was Psylocke.

Dorian sat upstairs, listening to his headphones, ignoring everyone downstairs.  His roommate, Artie, was sick, sleeping in the bed next to his.  A pink-skinned individual who's body was deformed like some sort of sci-fi alien with an enlarged head, Arthur Maddicks was none-the-less a kind soul and Dorian's best friend.  Dorian's power of canceling out energy, plus his family name, had managed to get him tagged with the nickname Leech.  Artie had yet to earn a codename, his powers were a sort of low-level telepathy similar to Jean's.  Ironic how the oldest of the New Recruits and the youngest had become roommates.  They had so very little in common.  And yet, because of their appearance... they had everything in common.

The remaining of the new students were in the living room, watching the tv and arguing over the remote, tossing it from hand to hand as quickly as they got it.  Angelo snagged it out of the air by stretching out his hand into a sort of net, but Illyana 'ported over and snatched it out of his hand in mid-air, tossing it to Paige, who caught it effortlessly.  Kaden Moore tossed a peanut from the bowl he'd been eating them from, knocking the remote out of her hands to land in Theresa's, who snatched it up and immediately switched channels to something she and her roommate, Allison Blaire, could both enjoy.  MTV.

Sickened, Kaden Moore, known more commonly by his alias of Longshot, griped and trudged out of the room to find the rec room and practice darts.  Angelo Espinoza, known as Skin, and Everett Thomas, called Synch, followed after him for some use of the pool table, leaving the girls in privacy by the big-screen tv.

"I wish I could sing like that," remarked Theresa, pointing up at the screen to the image of a popular teen singer.

"Someday you will, you and I, we'll be top of the charts," replied Allison.  "Don't you fret Siryn."

"Thanks Dazzler."

Illyana sighed, also uninterested in the MTV station and headed upstairs to write a letter to her big brother Piotr.  He hadn't sent an e-mail in some time, actually.  A quick 'port and she was in the room she shared with Paige, idly grimacing as she noticed yet another tiny flake of skin on the floor.  Honestly, why couldn't Husk ever find the time to clean up after herself? thought Magik.

Bobby Drake closed and locked the door behind him, dropping his bookbag on the chair by the door.  It contained all of the students homework, and he knew he'd be rather busy later that night working to correct them all.  Sometimes he wondered at the unfairness of it all.  Why couldn't he have gotten Logan's old job instead of Hank's?  How come Sarah got to have all the fun?

Giving a sigh, Bobby's nose picked up the scent of… was that… oh yes it was, he thought with a smirk.  Darcy's home cooking.  Bobby allowed his nose to guide him unerringly to the kitchen, where he saw his hydro-kinetic fiancée.

She was standing by the oven, stirring a pot and idly tossing in spices and ingredients that she and Bobby loved oh-so-much.  Her back was to him, her long brown hair flowing down her shoulders to mid-back, the one blue strand not visible, it tended to dangle in front of her crystal-blue eyes.  And, Bobby saw to his delight, she hadn't changed out of her red lifeguard swimsuit yet.  She'd just wrapped a white t-shirt around it, and she was still dripping wet.

Darcy gave a faint squeal as Bobby's arms wrapped around her midsection and he drew her away from the stove, pressing her small body against his as he kissed the back of her neck.

"Mmmm… afternoon dear," she murmured, barely able to form a coherent sentence.  Something about Bobby always rendered her puddy in his hands.

"Nice to see you too… did you shower yet?  You still got sand in your hair," he said teasingly.

"No, I did not," she replied, her voice equally playful as she tried to turn around in his embrace.  He wasn't about to let her.  "I was making supper, since I know you've got so much to do with those bratty little mutants kids."

"Not as bratty as a certain New Recruit I had to train back in the day…" he said, teasing her even more.

"Alright fine, I'll go take a shower… turn off the stove."

"You turn it off, my hands are… busy," he replied.  And indeed they were.

Giggling, Darcy reverted to her liquid form and slipped out of Bobby's hands, making a dash for the bathroom before he could say anything.  Chuckling, he turned off the stove and moved dinner over to an unlit burner.  No sense in letting it go to waste, after all.  They'd be hungry… once they got done showering.  Bobby shrugged off his shirt and went after her, catching her in the shower.

Though judging from the giggling and squealing coming from the bathroom, which later dissolved into moans and gasps of estacsy… it was going to be some time before they were done showering.

Scott found Ororo and his baby girl Rachel with no problem, taking them off the weather-witches hands as he climbed the stairs to the room he shared with Jean.  The day was wearing on, and the sun was setting.  It was so peaceful.  Jean sat on the bed, staring out at nothing, and Scott gently sat down beside her, Rachel in his lap.  She was snoring softly, and Jean couldn't help but think how cute she looked.

"Welcome home," she said softly.

**Author's Notes:**

Siddown!  This story ain't over yet!  I still got one more chapter coming after this, showing yet another glimpse into the future!  A glimpse past this one!  Ooooooh!  Okay, let's see, hmmm... Piotr's new job was, of course, inspired by his first appearance in TAS.  Crystal was Pietro's wife in the comics, though in the comics she was some sort of super-powered being, here she's a regular human.  Pyro a writer of gothic romance, never going to happen you say?  Guess again.  You guessed it, X-Men comics.  Let's see, the new new recruits.  Gabi (Blink) is an OC from the works of Scribbler entitled 'Listen what the man said' and 'Learning to Fly.'  Day (Misery), Rosaline (Willow) and Madison (Masque) come from the talented Comet-hime's masterpiece 'Triangle.'  All the other new new recruits are canon characters from the comics, though Longshot's name was made up and his origins altered (if someone so much as mentions Mojo I swear heads will roll).  Illyana's magic has been downgraded and replaced with a mutation, giving her the ability to teleport in a manner similar to Nightcrawler (I swear I heard somewhere in the comics she could teleport in addition to being a sorceress).  Next time, the next and final glimpse into the future, before I close the book on X-Men Evolution and move on to other genres to write about.

ViciousAssassin: I'm not very good at speeches either.  I'm sure that could've been done a helluva lot better.  And yeah, I do enjoy deviating from the norm to try and trick the readers and surprise them.  Its my hobby.  The Morlocks were mostly there because of Spyke, yes, but think of this… most of them have heard of Spyke's stories about the Institute, so they know about Xavier and what he dreamed of, fought for, and ultimately died for.  Who wouldn't go, given the chance, to that man's funeral?  I did forget to mention the scene with Kurt in-depth (not wanting to exclude other characters) but no holo-watch.  He's finally put it away.  And you've seen how I forgot Storm, but I intentionally left her out of the speech.  My new profile?  Oh yeah, I'm moving out of the Marvel universe and into the DC one.  Hope to keep you on as a reviewer.

Todd fan: While Xavier's passing on (kinda-sorta) was indeed very sad and dramatic, I couldn't help but be just a tiny bit sickened by how each and every character broke into tears during his last speech.  Even WOLVERINE of all people.  Fox overdid it a bit.  Evo would do it better, if they ever got the chance.  But glad you liked, and hope you enjoy the upcoming scenes of the slightly less sad future of the mutants.

Star-of-Chaos: You and me both.  Predictable stories quickly loose my interest and have me reaching for a barf bag.  Remy's out of prison, released on parole for good behavior and back into the story, though too late to be of any help.  Except to console his cherie, of course.  How things will go?  You will see.  You will all see!  Muwahahahaha.

Risty: Xavier had more friends than he might of realized.  And yeah its sad he'll never see his dream come to pass, but I think he kinda knew that from all his talks with Magneto.  Plus, he did build the school, after all.  It you can't do something in your lifetime, pass it along to others.  He was a very shrewd fellow.  Ah well.

Oceanbang: I figured that the death of Xavier would be one of the few things that could really unite the entire mutant community (as well as a large number of the non-mutant community).  Well, one of the few things that wasn't an end-of-the-world type scenario.  What's in store?  Well clearly you've just seen what's in store… but there's more!  Oh yes there's much, much more!  Glad you liked my explanation for Wolverine's leaving and Sarah's replacing him.

Nessie6: I prefer Evo, but to each their own.  And believe me, I do like how the Brotherhood have gotten a better role than being stupid villains and trouble-makers like back in TAS.  But they're still no X-Men.  Well you came close to crying, so it must've been good, at least.  I take that as a compliment, and I'll read up on that story so I can find out what I did wrong for next time.  Oh come on, you know Jean and Scott would've eventually done that.  Its not exactly like they have many other career options.  And yeah, I think I know what you mean by 'good' villains showing up to pay their respects.  And I know that, and you know that, but I doubt Scott ever will.  He's not the brightest apple in the barrel, but we love him anyway.

Pixie Stix Addict: I was trying to be subtle about his passing to keep people guessing until the funeral chapter.  Of course the students were depressed, half of them were in tears, clinging to their significant others during the funeral.  And I know the shot of which you refer, but that wasn't -future- shot so much as -near future- shot.  Consider that they looked the same, down the uniforms, yet the X-Men were shown older and with new ones.  Not deal with angsty backstories?  Logan's gone but Sarah's still here, and she even remembers what the hell happened to her!  Muwahahaha!

Lyranfan: You are reviewer number 200!  Congratulations! streamers and confetti.  Okay then.  Glad you liked the funeral and the nature of it.  As you put it yourself, the dream going on without the initial dreamer.  And also the Will, I did have to spend a fair while thinking about that.  Actually I had a lot more involved but ultimately settled for that one segment (mostly 'cause I don't know such legal things).

Ray1: Who says I'm done?  I'm just moving past XME, I'm still gonna write fanfiction until I die or my fingers fall off (and if they do, maybe I can spontaneously develop TK and keep going).  Right now I'm moving on to JL.  Thanks for the compliments though, since when I started out I had no intention of creating a Saga, I just kept getting requests for sequels.  Blame the readers, its all their fault.

Rogue14: I did say major character, didn't I?  Ha, better I surprised all of you.  Well okay, a few figured it out, so many just most of you.  But still, surprises are good.  I'm writing, I'm writing!  You write too!  I haven't seen you update in ages and its frickin' summer!


	16. XVI

Fifteen Years Later...

Time had left its mark on the city of Bayville.  Once a mid-sized urban center with no significant happenings (apart from a few strange incidents surrounding the local high school), the city had grown to a full-scale city easily the size of New York, Paris, or London.  It was a clean, well-kept city and now almost totally devoid of crime, a marked change over the past decade or so.  And now it had a claim to fame.

It was Mutant City, USA.

Mutant relations had improved in the past few years, and now they were no longer hated, persecuted, or feared any more than an idiot with a handgun or a drunk driver (both of which were also less frequent these days).  True, a few very small, narrow-minded individuals like the Friends of Humanity were against mutants, but like other racist groups of the past, they were a dying breed and within another decade or so they'd be nothing more than a word in the history books.  Mutants were now accepted, even welcome, members in any community.  True, the methods used to allow for control of mutants powers were still not 100% accurate, and thus a great number of people turned to aid from the Xavier Institute, with its leading experts on mutations.

Today was a sunny day, marked only by the occasional cloud.  It was also, unfortunately... the first day of Fall Semester at Bayville High.

Rachel sat alone, idly chewing on the end tip of her pencil as she stared down at the blank paper before her.  It was lunch time, and she'd finally managed to escape from the teachers to catch a few moments to herself.  She sat alone, but she was expecting her friends to arrive at any moment.  They were going to purchase lunch, after all.  She'd wisely chosen to bring hers.

Dressed in a crisp white t-shirt and a navy blue skirt that went down to her ankles, Rachel was a very pretty girl, though she would've denied it almost vehemently.  Her hair was as red as blood, cut short and drawn back from her face, pushed back over her ears to reveal her sky-blue eyes.  Her features were classic beauty, raised cheekbones, slanted eyes, and a pert little nose.  She was average height with a slim, soft body.  A pair of thin, wire-rim glasses rested on her nose.  A small red backpack rested by her sandaled feet, though it was usually slung over her shoulder.

"Hmmm..." she muttered to herself, adjusting her glasses, still idly chewing on the pencil as she pondered what to put to paper.  Giving a slight shrug, she dropped the pencil, deciding to give her mind a chance, see what she made.  It was a hobby of hers, drawing artwork.

Closing her eyes and letting her mind guide it, the pencil slid up through the air as if guided by an invisible hand, tracing images on the paper.  Rachel smiled... this way was easier, sometimes.

A short giggled interrupted her train of thoughts, however, and she glanced up, the pencil standing upright as she glanced over a few tables.  The source of the giggle came into view, and Rachel gave a sigh as she spotted her.

Perhaps three tables away (they were outside, enjoying the beautiful autumn day) a short, dark-haired girl walked, dressed in a bright red halter-top and a pair of khaki shorts.  Her skin was the rich color of cerulean, and her legs were long and shapely.  Obviously she worked out to maintain her image.  Her eyes were the most pretty shade of blue, like Rachel's.  But whereas Rachel's were blue like the sky, hers were dark as the ocean's depths.  Her long hair reached down to her shoulders, the color of a flowing waterfall.  As she walked, her hips swayed, and a long blue tail the same color as her skin peeked out from a slit in her shorts, waving back and forth.  The tip was heart shaped and, as Rachel watched, it gave a little wave as some of the boys from a nearby table flirted with the blue lady.  She flirted back, giving them a wink, but walked past, uninterested.

"You should stop encouraging them like that," remarked Rachel, as the girl slid into the seat across from her, drawing her knees up to her chest in an almost child-like gesture, her arms wrapped around them.  "It's not very nice."

"It's just some harmless flirting," replied Bluebelle.  Rachel's best friend since as long as either of the girls had known one another.  They were so close they were practically sisters.

"Oh fine, like you'll ever listen to me," muttered Rachel.  Sisters, yeah.  And siblings got on each other's nerves.

"As Auntie Rogue says... 'damn straight'... you gonna eat those?" asked Bluebelle, pointing at Rachel's unopened bag of chips.  Rachel didn't even bother to reply, just gave them a gentle nudge with her mind.  They flew over into Bluebelle's eager hands.

They were soon joined by the other members of their little clique, the LeBeau twins as they were infamously known around Bayville High.  Infamous for breaking hearts, that is.  Which was, of course, a total lie.  Neither Charles nor Adrienne ever broke a heart, they left it just as intact when they broke up with someone as when they started.  That way the lucky boy/girl was even more in love with them when it was over.

Charles was a tall one, towering above Rachel easily, and looked more like a college student than the high school junior he was.  The illusion was added too by a short beard gracing his chin.  He had very handsome features, very rugged, with dark forest green eyes and long auburn hair.  He was dressed in a black and dark red t-shirt and black jeans, over which he'd thrown a trench coat.  His hands and particularly his fingers were long and slender, designed for intricate work... both during and after school.  His twin sister Adrienne was about a head shorter, with thick dark brown hair that flowed down the back of her head to just above her shoulders, with a distinct streak of white dangling in front of his eyes, and a saucy smirk perpetually on her face.  She dressed in a light green halter and a darker green sweater thrown over it.  A spiked collar was wrapped around her slender throat, and an ankh-shaped earring dangled from her ear.  Her eyes were a very distinct red on black that she'd inherited from her father.

So it was the foursome chatted about this and that, about teachers they liked or hated, about who was riding with who on the way home (Charles had a motorcycle, Rachel had a red convertible she'd inherited from her father), and most importantly, what they had to do once they got home, but conversation came to an almost dead halt as another student walked up to their table and said...

"Mind if I sit here?"

It was a dark-skinned boy, short and muscular, with dark black hair that was cut very short in an almost military style, shaved completely off around his ears and the back of his head.  He had a pair of incredibly piercing black eyes to match.  He was dressed in a tan t-shirt and jeans, and under his arm he held a skateboard.  A backpack was slung casually over his other shoulder.

"I suppose not," replied Rachel, nodding to an empty seat the group always seemed to have at this particular table.  Now, with the young man sitting in it, the circular lunch table was complete, all five spots filled.  "What's your name?"

"Terrance," he stated, dropping his bag and his board on the ground behind him.  "Terrance Daniels.  Most people call me Terry."

"Nice to meet you," said Bluebelle, pausing in her scarfing of chips to grab a napkin and wipe her mouth off, then offering a three-fingered hand to Terry in greetings.  He shook it.

"You new here?" asked Charles.

"Not exactly," he replied.  When they looked at him strangely, as if expecting an explanation, he took a moment to consider how to properly phrase his response.  He ultimately settled for the truth.

"You guys ever hear of the Morlocks...?"

Sitting at the opposite end of the lunch court was an entirely different gathering, and this particular table was given a wide berth by anyone not in this particular group.

The first was a boy, with dark-brown hair and a perpetual scowl on his face, dressed completely in black, head to toe, down to his socks and fingerless gloves.  His dufflebag lay on the ground beside him, stuffed with his books, and everything about him had a half-hazard look, like he'd been traveling most of his life and was ready to be gone in an instant.  His surprisingly soft brown eyes had locked onto a figure at the far table, and they rarely wandered away from that figure.  His lunch sat by his elbow, ignored.

The figure sitting behind him, on the opposite end of the table, snorted idly in disgust, sipping on her coke through a straw.  She was of average height, with dark blacks locks cut short and out of her eyes.  Eyes that had yellow hues and slit-like pupils.  Her skin was a pale greenish-tan mixture, and had the rough texture that was almost scaly to the touch.  She was dressed in gothic attire, blacks and dark purples, and all but covered in jewelry and piercings.  At least three earrings and a nose-ring, that could be seen with a casual glance.

The third figure sat slightly to the left of the second, resting her head on her arms and idly wondering when the day would end.  She was the shortest of the three, her body small and underdeveloped, but she was only fifteen years old, with some time left to grow and mature.  She idly blew her hair out of her silver-blue eyes, letting the silver-white bangs fall back over them almost instantly before she did it again.  She was bored.  She was dressed in preppy tight white t-shirt with the Bayville High logo and red skirt, her hair held back in a ponytail by a pink scrunchie.

"Oh give it up Dominic, you know she's completely out of your league," remarked the green-skinned girl, in between sips of her drink.

"Shut up," he grunted, barely paying any attention to her.

"She is right you know," remarked the silver-haired girl, who'd grown bored with blowing her hair and was now idly spinning a quarter on the table-top, watching it fall, the spinning it again.  "Come on, can't we leave already?  I'm so goddamn BORED in school.  I wanna go to the mall and do some SHOP-PING."

"Oh give it a rest Luna, we're all sick of you and your shop 'til you drop frenzies," remarked the reptilian girl, finishing off her drink and starting on her fries.  Luna'd made a lunch run to grab some McDonalds food for the trio, since they hated cafeteria food.

"Shut up Tonya," retorted the silver-haired girl, sticking her tongue out at her.

"You shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"You!"

"You!"

"Both of you shut up!" grumbled Dominic, finally paying attention to their whining.  He grunted, grabbing the table and activated his mutant power.  Instantly it turned as insubstantial as smoke, along with the seats attached to it (linked underneath the table to prevent them from being moved).  Both of the girls, unprepared for the move, instantly found their seats gone, and landed hard on their butts.

"Ow... Dom!  What the hell, we were just..." started Tonya, but she froze upon seeing his expression.  He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her.

"Fine,whatever,I'moutofhere," remarked Luna, and in a flash of light and a blur, she did just that, vanishing from the table and heading off into the school.  Tonya grunted something similar and trudged off to her locker.  She and Luna were Dominic's only friends, but that was only because they could put up with him for very long.  Still, he was nicer than his 'back-off' appearance and attitude seemed to suggest.

Dominic paid no attention to either of them.  Now that it was quiet again, he turned back to his favorite pastime.  Watching a beautiful, admittedly unattainable, girl.

Downtown was chaos.  Not just simple, semi-restrained chaos, like when Johnny Depp Jr. was signing autographs for hordes of screaming girls.  This was unrestrained, pure havoc, run-or-you-die chaos.  People were running and screaming, filling the streets and abandoning their cars in pre-rush hour roadblocks, all fleeing before it.

It did not understand what it was doing was chaotic.  It only understand what it was told.  It had been programmed with a simple command.  Albeit layered by countless other commands on top of that, but its core program was a simple, one-sentence line.

Kill all mutants.

Nimrod floated down, landing on its two feet as its massive head turned from side to side.  It was not an easy process for it, with its incredibly thick neck, but in general it preferred to turn its entire body anyway.  For now, it wanted to remain on the ground.  Less noticeable, if only by a 5% chance.  Nimrod was the ultimate sentinel, the masterwork of his creator Trask.  Having lay inactive for so long, it'd only recently been re-activated by the man known as Graydon Creed and given its purpose, to destroy all mutants.  Nimrod had thus far followed its new instructions without flaw.  Creed's dead body would attest to this, as would his latent mutant gene.  Its highly-power sensors picked up another mutant, three blocks down, having been knocked over by the mob and lying helpless.  Only a child.  Low-threat.  Nimrod did not hesitate as it raised its hand, a ball of energy forming between his fingers, pouring out of the tiny hole in his palm.  It did not allow its emotions for a young child interfere.  It did not have such emotions.  The energy ball launched from its hand, speeding towards its target...

... only to bounce off an invisible wall and be sent spinning up into the air harmlessly.  Nimrod turned its head slightly, its yellow eyes glowing as it regarded the newcomer.  Its sensors immediately identified her as a mutant.

Rachel Summers was a changed girl, and anyone who knew her from High school would've had trouble connecting her to the redheaded woman standing before Nimrod.  Gone were her glasses, her geekish shirt and skirt, replaced by a skin-tight black uniform that covered her from neck all the way down to her toes, covered in gold and red flames.  On her belt and her shoulders rested a now world-wide familiar black 'X' on a field of red.  She was Phoenix.  She was one of the X-Men.

"Leave them alone," she said to Nimrod, as if she actually had a chance of reasoning with a machine.  Nimrod lifted itself up into the air again, hovering as easily as Phoenix did.  It raised its hand with methodical purpose, firing off another energy ball at Phoenix.  She held up her hands, blocking it with another telekinetic shield, giving a smirk.  "That all you got?"

Nimrod's threat assessment of Phoenix, holding out both hands this time, and giving off a controlled, concentrated blast of energy that quickly cracked Phoenix's shield and sent the young woman tumbling through the air to slam onto the hood of a buick.

"Ooooh... guess not..." she muttered, getting back to her feet.  It was damn powerful, for a robot especially, she thought.

Nimrod floated over towards Phoenix, determined to finish her off.  It didn't get the chance.  An explosion hit it and it staggered, turning in a complete half-circle to face its other opponents on the other side of the street which had been, to its knowledge, previously empty.  Three of them, all mutants.

Bluebelle was dressed in a bright red and black uniform much like her father had worn in his time as an X-Man, both of her hands resting on the shoulders of those who were now Plague and La Mort, aka Adrienne and Charles.  La Mort had six cards in his hands, all charged up and ready to fly.  His other hand was empty... for now.  Plague had taken up a defensive stance, unsure yet of how her own power would be useful in a fight against a machine.  Bluebelle kept a tight grip on their shoulders, ready to 'port out the instant things got too hot.

Nimrod began a slow, controlled approach of the three mutants, ignoring Rachel for the moment as it raised its hands to test their powers.  It let out three short controlled bursts.  The X-Men dodged, La Mort retaliating with some charged cards that hit Nimrod dead center... blasting a crater clear in its chest.  They could see the shiny silver metal beneath, and the X-Men gave up a cheer.  It died on their lips, as Nimrod's body seemed to morph and flow like quicksilver, and the wound sealed itself over, good as new.  Nanotechnology.  Liquid metal.  Whatever it was, it equaled bad news for the young team of mutants.  Plague's hand dropped down to her belt, resting on the communicator they all carried in case they would need back-up.

"Back off, metal man!" came a shout, again drawing Nimrod's attention.  A black boy was making a charge at him, riding a skateboard to increase his acceleration.  Confused by his aggressive tactics, Nimrod opened fire.  The boy dodged aside, reaching to his elbow...

... and drawing out a four foot long serrated steel sword right out of his skin.

Razor of the Morlocks ducked as he sped right past Nimrod, slicing at his stomach with his steel blade.  It shattered on impact, and he nearly spun out of control, but came to a stop with the other X-Men, kicking his board up for a controlled stop.  Razor was in a uniform now too, of sorts.  A criss-crossing pair of leather buckles over a black t-shirt and a belt with a dented but obviously well cared for 'X' buckle.  A gift from his dad.  Just like the spikes, except that his entire skeletal system was metal instead of bone.  Hence his codename.

Nimrod attacked the mutants, focusing on the larger group and ignoring Phoenix for the moment.  This was fine by her, since her head hurt like hell after being knocked back like that.  She grunted, clutching her forehead, brushing back her red locks as her temples pounded.

A hand came from nowhere, right into her line of vision, and she glanced up in surprise.

"Need a hand?" asked Dominic, giving her a lift up from her seated position.  Dominic Alvers, she remembered.  They shared chemistry class together, as lab partners.  He'd always been an enigma to her.  So tough and mean towards everyone... except her... when he'd be so shy.  And here now...

It took her a moment to realize, he was in a uniform too.  A black, flowing ensemble that would've looked at home on a Matrix star.  Like everything else he wore, all black.

"Looked like you X-Geeks could use a hand," remarked Tonya, dropping down off the nearby alley wall and landing gracefully next to the two lovebirds.  She was dressed now in bright green scales, a uniform that stretched across her skin and covered her from head to toe.  It perfectly fit her codename.  Reptilia.

"Sowedecidedtoshowupandbeofassistance," added Luna, zipping up beside them.  The Fastest Girl Alive, as she proclaimed loudly and quite often, was also in uniform.  A skin-tight green and blue number that looked almost just like her dads.  Only this one emphasized her blossoming figure.  She liked to call herself Warp.

"We'll gladly take the help," replied Rachel.  She glanced up, catching a mental blip.  Then she smiled.  "Looks like we just got some reinforcements!" she added, pointing up at the arriving Blackbird.  The side-door slid open, and out jumped Vapor, sending out a chill that formed a perfect ice-bridge, allowing her to slid down effortlessly to the ground, before she formed a ball of water and tossed it at Nimrod.  No such luck, Kylie Drake found... it was a waterproof design, this sentinel.

After her came the Guthrie twins, Fang and Claw, immediately assuming their lycranthropic forms as they leapt at Nimrod.  It batted them aside effortlessly, but fortunately they were caught by a quick jump from the agile Reptilia and a tiny whirlwind from Warp.  Jebediah and Joshua continued their assault, their non-mutant little sister Moira giving them an encouraging wave from the cockpit of the X-Jet.

Iris, better known as Yan Aquilla-Smith, adopted heir of the Nova Roma throne, followed as soon as the Jet lowered to the ground, unable to safely jump out.  She launched a bright flurry of rainbow lights and colors at Nimrod, hoping to blind it.  She succeeded, and the big machine stumbled backwards.  But then it was quick to recover, and blasted away at her.  As his blast neared blasting away the tiny girl, a figure rose up out of the gone, de-phasing and activating his other power, that of increased mass.  Shadow, better known as Dominic, barely felt a thing as the blast slammed into his hardened body.  He could hardly move in this form, but it was worth it to be a human wall.  Like his mother, Dominic could phase his body in a manner that it became insubstantial, but he'd gained an additional power to push his own molecules closer together, to the point that it was practically impossible to break through him.

"Go!" he shouted, ordering Iris out of the way.  A second blast caused Shadow to stumble.  Nimrod was still very powerful.  But this time it was Phoenix who rescued -him-, grabbing his hands as she swooped overhead and lifting him out of the fight.

Nimrod was surrounded.  Twelve mutants, one latent mutant, with a variety of powers and abilities.  Worse, they worked as an effective team.  They had a purpose, to save themselves and their friends and families, to fight for a cause, and it only had its programming to fall back on, unable to retreat, to mindless to surrender.  The X-Men and their allies continued to fight this new menace, as they had for two decades and more, and would continue to do so for many, many years to come...

And so the battle raged on.  Some things had changed, but some things never would.

**Author's Notes:**

There ya have it folks, the end of my X-Men Evolution masterpiece, and the final glimpse you'll see of what I think the Evo world will turn out like.  I hope I don't have to tell any of you who Rachel Summers or Bluebelle Wagner are.  If so then you need to seriously read an on-line x-men archive or something.  Okay, Charles and Adrienne LeBeau are Remy and Rogue's kids (duh) Charles with Remy's power, Adrienne like the Horseman who had the same codename (TAS, at least) and are the creations of Comet-hime.  Terrance 'Terry' Daniels, AKA Razor, is the son of Evan and Callisto and is my humble creation.  As are Dominic Alvers (Shadow), Tonya Tolenski (Reptilia) and Luna Maximoff (Warp).  Luna is the real name of the child of Pietro and Crystal in the comics, though there she was completely normal (and hated by her granddaddy Magneto because of that fact).  Dominic is the name of comics Avalanche, seemed appropriate for his son.  Kylie Drake (Vapor) belongs to Kinomi and is the child of Bobby and her OC Darcy.  Yan Aquilla-Smith (Iris) is Comet-hime's, Jebediah (Fang), Joshua (Claw), and Moira Guthrie are mine.  Nimrod is, of course, seen in the final scene from "Ascension" before the big group photo, and thus ties up the last of the images in my stories.  Graydon Creed's name was given mention, he was the son of Sabertooth and Mystique, half-brother to Kurt and Rogue.  In the comics he was completely human and head of the Friends of Humanity, I could not resist giving him a latent gene and having Nimrod destroy him.  How's that for ironic?  Nimrod's ability to repair his own body was from the comics, but a twisted part of me modified it to resemble the T-1000's and T-X's from 'T2' and 'T3', respectively.

And on that note, I am done.  Moving on to greener pastures.  Hope you enjoyed the wild ride.  I have so many people to thank, I don't know where to begin.  Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my story, giving valuable insight and necessary criticism (I am only human, after all).  Thanks to the writers of X-Men Evolution, who brought us such a lovable show in the first place.  Thanks to the cast of X-Men Evolution, for working with me to bring themselves to light in my stories.  Thanks especially to Comet-hime for providing artwork and inspiration, and for beta-reading my stories to approve my ideas.  Thanks also to anyone who created an Evo OC and permitted me to use them in my stories.

Nessie6: I'm still of the firm belief the only people who should have unhappy endings are villains.  And even then I judge on a case-by-case basis.  Me too, I've always preferred Sam/Rahne, because of their screen time and some of Scribbler's works, plus I'm not a very big fan of Roberto, who's said maybe three lines in the whole series (poor fellow).  Rogue can touch.  Re-read the last chapter of Annihilation for explanations.  Of course, you never really stop being an X-Man.  But its like military service or such, you can do other things in your free time.  Dominic's an okay name, so I figured I could give it to Lance and Kitty's kid.  As Todd proved to Kurt, looks are not everything, so of course its personality.  Definitely rather make Crystal an orphan than deal with her comic origins.  I'm glad you enjoyed the fates of the other X-Men and other mutants and OC's and canon characters.  TAS made me hate Cyclops and Jean too, and Gambit's third-person speech, and bits of Wolverine and definitely Jubilee.

Lady Iapetus, Roving Wanderer: Ah, so I was right, what a relief.  The end?  This end is the beginning of a new end… beginning… or something.  I move on from Evo (though I may be back to play with my Neo X-Men later) but I move on to other genres and other stories, and don't have any plans to stop writing fanfiction anytime in the conceivable near future.

Rogue14: Going to what?  Make him into a thrashin' near-perfect version of his father?  I live for happy endings, damnit!  Happy!  Happy Happy Happy!  And now, -this- is the end.  Hope you enjoyed the ride, and continue to read my non-Evo stories that I will be writing later.

Todd fan: You're a fan of Todd/Wanda and Sam/Rahne?  Cool.  Glad you liked what happened then with the families and all.  And yes, another chapter, although this was it, I hope you enjoyed.  No TJ, but Bluebelle and Rachel for you to enjoy.  Hehehe.

Oceanbang: Believe you me, it was not easy determining what happened to the entire cast of Evo over the last five years, and even tougher for fifteen years.  But I'm glad you enjoyed all the hard work I put into my story, which could've just as easily been wasted studying for my last midterm.  We are all fortunate I know where my priorities are.  Heh.

DoubleL27: Remy is a charmer but more importantly he's a decent guy at heart, despite being a thief.  I try to emphasize that part of his nature.  Happiness is always best after angst, and angst drives a story.  Glad you liked the showing of the OC's (not just Comet-hime's, also Scribbler's, Internutter's, and Kinomi's) and the canon characters.  Hope you also enjoyed -this- glimpse into the even farther future, including those lovable X-Babies you love so much, all grown up and goin' to High School, just like their parents did before them.  Maddie… Madelyn?  Madelyn Pryor, Jean's clone?

Star-of-chaos: What, seeing an eight-foot tall man and his five foot puny business partner walking in and saying they can do a fifty man job in half the time?  That guy must've miscarried.  And yeah, I figured I could be nice to Gambit, I had no intention to let him rot in jail forever (tempting though it would be).  Actually I'm starting in JL, I'll be moving on to TT after that.  Or maybe some cute little crossover, since they're both DC universe.

ViciousAssassin: Actually with this story I have left some loose ends with my Neo X-Men, in case I ever want to come back.  I doubt it though.  And no, none of those three, sorry to disappoint you.  Not all mutants get happy family endings, some just drift off quietly into the background.  Yeah Sarah's got her hands full but, like daddy, she knows how to handle 'em.  'fraid no reunion for the Daniels-Munroe family, just wouldn't work out.  But its not like they've forgotten about one another.

X00001: Working hard is good in that uhm… whatcha call it… real life, yeah!  Uhm, but glad you could review for my story too.  Enjoy the final chapter, hope to see you over in my other stories.

Kinomi: Glad you liked the screentime of Darcy and hoped you liked even more the time of her and Bobby's kid Kylie.  I know you're busy these days so you can't write but I was shocked when I saw you'd reviewed, I didn't think you were still reading my stuff.  So thanks mucho.  Hope that someday in the future you can return to Melt Me, but I understand you got things to do for right now.

Comet-hime: I think the only thing I know I can't write well is humor.  I leave that to the masters like Red Witch.  But thanks very much for saying so, you made my day.  Glad you liked the future glimpses, and I know you loved the introduction of your OC's Willow, Masque and Misery.  They're a lot younger in my story than yours, but still the lovable characters with the same lovable personalities and relationships (if you get my drift).  Yay, imagination fuel!  Now, if only I could get some for my tank, I've started to run on empty lately… ah well.  Enjoy what is to come, oh beta-reader and artist of my work.

Princess Myra: Me too, but I always gotta go through plot before I can get to interaction, character insight, and the like.  Stories without plot are lacking somehow.  Ah, Emma was a number of factors I obviously did not explain well enough.  For one, she actually -did- have an attraction to Scott, intending to have him brainwashed and into a slave like Jean was for Lucas.  Two, she was betrayed by Lucas, that was obvious enough that she had loyalty to someone who didn't care about her.  She's mostly being good for David now because she doesn't want to get smacked around by him, the X-Men, and the authorities.


End file.
